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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25550365">perfect strangers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincities/pseuds/sincities'>sincities</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Perfect Strangers [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Formula 1 RPF, Tiny Meat Gang (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fluff, M/M, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, so much of it, tags would be endless</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:54:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25550365</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincities/pseuds/sincities</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>some guy comes up to you in a bar and says you look like his celebrity crush, do you think he’s a complete loser?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Noel Miller/ Daniel Ricciardo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Perfect Strangers [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063745</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>95</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>(lesbians-4-kelsey on tumblr)</p>
<p>this is fiction and in no way canon don’t take it too seriously please &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“has anyone ever told you you look like daniel ricciardo?” the words were slurred, the man’s voice weak and blurry by the alcohol he's consumed.</p>
<p>it wasn't the first time daniel had heard this one, there were always people who recognised him. at least this guy had pronounced his name right, despite the mumbling.</p>
<p>usually, daniel would reveal himself right away, rather than having to deal with the attempts of people to try and stroke his ego to appear ‘not like other fans’, but finding himself on his own, drinking cheap whiskey, maybe he needed a little bit of ego stroking.</p>
<p>so he cleared his throat, “is that a friend of yours?”</p>
<p>the guy spluttered incredulously and fell onto the stool next to him. “how can you not know the name daniel ricciardo?” he said, throwing his arms into the air for emphasis.</p>
<p>daniel fake-shrugged and lifted his glass to his lips, the dark liquid l burned as it slid down his throat. “is he famous or something?”</p>
<p>“are you for real?” the other man stared at him, his expression shifting from disbelief to confusion. “he’s only like- the best formula one driver. he's smart, good-looking, talented, he-”</p>
<p>“he sounds like a great guy, then.” daniel turned to the man with a smile and a spark in his eye that hinted it was time to drop the act, that it was okay for him to admit he knew him.</p>
<p>instead, the man didn't seem to notice, “yeah, you're right," he said and sighed, he seemed to get upset, arms crossed on top of the bar. he hunched forward, chin resting on his arm. “you also have his smile," he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. “he would never talk to a guy like me, though..."</p>
<p>“really?” daniel chuckled, "i think you're great, too, maybe more than he is.”</p>
<p>the man rolled his eyes and glared as if daniel had offended him personally. “he's <em> is </em> the best. but, like, a guy like that has more important things to do, cooler people to talk to. i'm literally no one, a stupid failed comedian," he said with a little shrug. </p>
<p>“you're a comedian?”</p>
<p>“are you making fun of me?” the man groaned, eyeing him suspiciously, his guard clearly up.</p>
<p>daniel was convinced that he genuinely didn't recognise him at this point, and the self-deprecation was completely genuine. <em> this </em> was new. “no, not at all, you seem cool.”</p>
<p>“oh, you <em> are </em> making fun of me,” he didn’t sound upset though. he laughed, a loud, deep laugh that made something in daniel's gut jump. he smiled.</p>
<p>“some guy comes up to you in a bar and says you look like his celebrity crush, and you don’t think he’s a complete loser?”</p>
<p>“i'm drinking alone," daniel lifed his glass to him, "i think you're good.”</p>
<p>the man stared at him for a moment, and then let out another laugh. “you really do look like him, though.” he rested his elbow on the bar and studied daniel with intense, honey eyes. “you can do better than a bar like this.”</p>
<p>daniel laughed, and the man looked at him with open eyes, as if he was processing something. daniel coughed to shush himself, in fear of him recognising his laugh. </p>
<p>“so, what are you doing here?”</p>
<p>the man pulled a face and ducked away, muttering something that daniel didn't catch.</p>
<p>“gonna need louder than that.”</p>
<p>he turned to face him again, “i got dumped.” </p>
<p>daniel smiled sympathetically and raised his glass towards the man in a toast. “guess we're both losers.”</p>
<p>the man looked suddenly lost, his eyes wide with confusion. he was beautiful, beneath the drunk flushed cheeks and slurred speech. he shook his head, he got to his feet, stumbling a few steps before straightening himself and walking near the stereo.</p>
<p>“come on, dance with me!” he demanded, motioning daniel to follow. vivid and alive like he was the brightest thing in the room, shining with a light that even the dark bar couldn't dim. </p>
<p>daniel left his half-finished glass of whiskey and went after him, like a moth drawn to a lamp. “dance? are you sure you can do that?” he teased, standing behind the man, feeling the heat from his body even a few inches apart.</p>
<p>“listen, dude," the man spun around to face him, and poked daniel in the chest, pausing when his finger met  muscle. “god, you're fucking ripped,” he muttered, distracted, and he poked daniel again. “you're never too drunk to dance,” he said finally, after one more poke. </p>
<p>he moved towards daniel, his hips swaying in a way that was more coordinated and graceful than what it should be, considering how drunk he was. “so, are we dancing?”</p>
<p>he was right in front of him, stinking of cheap alcohol and probably cheap cologne, he was shorter than him, short enough for daniel to rest his chin on top of his head when he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.</p>
<p>they danced to every song and kept dancing even after they were over and a talking show was on, giggling and tripping over each other's feet. somewhere in between it all they managed to exchange names. the beautiful young man's name was noel, and daniel gave his name as ‘max’, though noel was so drunk daniel wondered if he would have noticed had he given his real name.</p>
<p>soon, that dark bar was no longer the place they needed, and they left together, lighter and freer than that had been when they walked in. but when daniel asked noel where he lived, he said he didn't remember, and all of the alcohol he'd consumed was starting to drag him down into a drunken mood that demanded sleep.</p>
<p>“hey," daniel muttered, "come on you can't sleep yet. don't you want to go to sleep in your own bed?” daniel gave him a gentle shake, but the man continued to hang in his arm, dragging his feet as daniel led him towards the car.</p>
<p>“wanna sleep here,” noel mumbled, turning his face into daniel's chest with a satisfied sigh.</p>
<p>daniel laughed “alright, alright,” he knew better than to argue with someone so far gone. maybe he'd get a little more sense out of noel in the car. </p>
<p>he all but dumped him into the back seat, noel flopped down, limbs splayed out, and it took several attempts for daniel to get him to sit up so he could buckle his seatbelt. </p>
<p>with noel secured he walked around the car, getting into the back through the other door. by the time he took his seat next to noel, he was fast asleep, his head dropping to one side and mouth hanging open.</p>
<p><em> now what? </em>he rubbed his temple and frowned as he watched noel's sleepy face.</p>
<p>he could go through noel's pockets, search for a phone or a wallet and hope he found an address, but what if noel woke up and thought he was trying to do something to him? it was unlikely though, noel was dead asleep, and <em> maybe </em> daniel was just looking for an excuse to take him home with him.</p>
<p>also, he wanted to see the look on noel's sober face when he realised who he really was.</p>
<p>even though he'd only drank a glass of whiskey, that he hadn't even finished, daniel didn't want to risk their safety by driving. plus, a professional driver getting stopped for drunk driving wouldn't be funny to cyril, he thinks.</p>
<p>so, he called his trainer, michael, promising a bonus and a beer if he came to collect him and drove him home right now.</p>
<p>during his call, noel's head flopped onto his shoulder, and a satisfied smile stretched his sleepy lips. he titled his head, nuzzling into daniel's chest mumbling something unintelligible in his sleep. daniel was more than happy to let him stay there.</p>
<p>michael turned up in a cab several minutes later, a raised eyebrow his only comment about the <em> additional passenger. </em> daniel smiled sheepishly, and pressed a finger to his lips, glancing at the man still fast asleep on his shoulder.</p>
<p>“just as long as you don't ask me to hide any bodies for you,” michael said in reply, sounding bored and rolling his eyes, clearly sleepy.</p>
<p>“is that who you think i am?” daniel gasped under his breath with a soft laugh.</p>
<p>michael only smiled and gave him a shake of the head, climbing into the front seat and starting the car up, but daniel knew the man trusted him, and he had his trust in return. </p>
<p>the ride home was quiet, only the sound of noel's soft snoring reached daniel's ears. orange and yellow street lights flooded the car as they drove, the artificial shine dancing across noel's golden, sun-kissed skin making him glow and illuminating the lines of his face. it tempted daniel to take a taste, kiss, but he settled with brushing his fingers through noel's cheekbones.</p>
<p>noel muttered in his sleep and snuggled closer, wrapping his arm under daniel’s armpit and around his back, hugging him closer and resting his face on his chest.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>he woke to a thrumming pain in his head, which considering the amount he'd drank, wasn't as bad as it could have been. still, even with the curtains closed, the light was too bright, it burned against his closed eyelids. he groaned, rolled over and pulled the covers with him, hugging them tighter around his body.</p><p>there was no hurry. it was saturday morning, and he had no plans and no obligations to drag him out of bed. he was free, and he could sleep it all away, maybe relish a little longer in the self-pity that had got him here in the first place.</p><p>but, something nagged at him, like an itch he couldn't scratch, it told him that something wasn't right, and no matter how he tried to ignore it, it refused to let him doze off.</p><p>“come on, just five more minutes,” he pleaded, burying his face into the pillow that smelled faintly of...pine?</p><p>had his pillow always smelled like that?</p><p>the covers were softer than he remembered too, smooth against his skin like a caress, and heavy enough to be warm without suffocating him. he felt like he was being held.</p><p>his bed had definitely never been this comfortable.</p><p>this was not his bed.</p><p>his eyes snapped open. not his bedroom. he flipped over, throwing the covers up, but there was no one lying next to him. okay. good start. a look under the covers revealed he was still dressed, too. perfect. while he was not opposed to one night stands, he would rather remember them.</p><p>he glanced around the room, searching for a clue or something that might stimulate his memory and tell him who he'd gone home with, or where he was. it was a nice room, tidy with minimal decoration. and it all looked expensive. it made noel a bit uncomfortable as if he didn't belong in it.</p><p>“okay. come on…” he closed his eyes and tried to remember something, anything, from last night.</p><p>there were a lot of drinks, a bar, a tall man, laughter and dancing...and that was all he remembered. not a face nor a name, but at the very least he felt safe. </p><p>whoever it was, they hadn't taken advantage of him, and it had felt good, really fucking good. a warm, pleasant sensation pooled in his chest, he couldn't make out a face, but he remembered the feeling of being with the man, or at least, his heart did.</p><p>“fuck.” bad. “shit, i hope i didn't make a fool of myself.” he groaned, slapping his hands over his face. it would be just his luck, to finally find someone he was willing to try again with, and he'd already ruined it by being a stupid drunk idiot.</p><p>well, there was only one way to find out, but that involved getting out of bed and going to find the mysterious man. noel wasn't sure he was ready for that.</p><p>a knock at the door brought him crashing to reality real fast.</p><p>“are you awake?” the voice was a deep, smooth rumble that made a tight knot form in his gut. uh, oh. definitely not good.</p><p>noel swallowed thickly, and before he could think, he answered. “no," and to make things even more embarrassing, his voice stuttered.</p><p>the deep voice laughed. god, even his laugh was hot, the click of the door opening followed it. noel's eyes darted to the window, and he wondered if he had enough time to jump out of it before the other man came into the room.</p><p>he sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and casted one final glance to the door, ready to make his escape. he froze and his eyes opened like plates. the figure standing in the doorway was so impossible that it had to be a dream, and noel's body went lax, flopping back down on the bed with a relieved huff of laughter.</p><p>“oh, i’m dreaming.”</p><p>the figure in the doorway cocked an eyebrow, he was shirtless, one hand resting on the door handle, the other holding a glass of water. “oh? are you sure about that?”</p><p>it even sounded like him. god. well, noel was, <em>maybe,</em> a little obsessed with daniel ricciardo, after all. he pulled his legs back onto the bed and rolled over, lying on his side to face him. </p><p>it was the nicest dream he'd had in a while, and he was going to enjoy it. “well you <em> are </em> the man of my dreams,” he said with a smirk and a suggestive wink, starting to feel hot everywhere l.</p><p>daniel raised his eyebrows and bit his lower lip, suppressing a smile. noel was still as beautiful as he remembered, the sunlight leaking through the closed curtains highlighting his form on the bed, giving him a sultry glow, calling to daniel. he wanted to join him in bed, kiss his face and lips, run his hands all over his body. </p><p>“i just came to check on you,” he said, lifting the glass of water, “and see if you wanted anything for breakfast.” daniel stepped into the room, stopping beside the bed.</p><p>“i can think of something else i’d like for breakfast.” noel licked his lips, eyes raking up and down daniel's naked torso hungrily. he got on his knees, still in bed, he was face to face with daniel, his breath hot in his face.</p><p>noel closed his eyes and leaned in. it would have been so easy for daniel take advantage, take what he wanted. but instead, he dipped his fingers into the glass and flicked the water at noel.</p><p>noel blinked. “what was that for?”</p><p>daniel laughed and brought his hand forward to stroke noel’s face. small droplets of water dripped down noel's chin. the touch seeped into his skin, a warm touch that was too hot, <em>way</em> too real.</p><p>“oh my fucking god.” grabbing the covers, noel yanked them over his head and curled into a tight ball. it did nothing to muffle the loud laugh daniel let out. </p><p>he heard the click of the glass meeting the surface of the bedside table, then felt the bed dip as the solid, <em>very real</em> weight of daniel ricciardo perched on the bed next to him.</p><p>“you're awake now?”</p><p>noel could only groan.</p><p>he felt a hand hover over him, cautious fingers tracing the line of his body until they found his side. they rested there gently. “you know, i don't mind if you stay here forever, but you should at least drink the water. i bought you some advil too if you need it.”</p><p>it was hot beneath the covers. his heart was pounding, breath coming in panicked gasps that only made the air around him hotter and more stifling. it was not a dream. the <em> real </em> daniel ricciardo was sitting on the bed next to him. and it was not noel's bed. it must be daniel's. how? </p><p>“what happened last night?” noel asked, his voice muffled, head still under the covers. “did i make a fool of myself?”</p><p>“noel..." the hand curled gently around his waist, a reassuring squeeze, comforting and not threatening. “come out?” it was a plea, not a demand.</p><p>noel pulled the covers down, but only enough so the top of his head and eyes peeked over them. daniel's fingers uncurled from around his waist, but his hand stayed where it was. noel could feel the heat of his touch, even through the blankets.</p><p>daniel smiled, the light in the room giving his features a softness that made noel's heart jump into his throat. “good morning, first of all.”</p><p>“hey?” he laughed nervously, his eyes glued to daniel's.</p><p>daniel’s smile turned into a chuckle, he moved closer, his leg pressing against noel's. “we met in a bar last night. you were pretty wasted already and didn't recognise me, but you talked to me, and we had fun. when it was time to go, you couldn't tell me where you lived, so i brought you here so you'd have a safe place to sleep. that's all that happened.”</p><p>the hand left from his waist, and noel almost wanted to whine, he pulled the covers down lower. “i didn't recognise you? seriously?”</p><p>“well, you <em>did</em> come up to me and asked if anyone had ever told me that i look like daniel ricciardo.”</p><p>noel groaned, rolled over, and buried his face in the pillow. “that's so embarrassing.” </p><p>it was muffled, but daniel still laughed. noel laughed too, his face buried in the pillows. </p><p>there was no way he could stay in daniel’s bed for the rest of his life, even if he wanted to. he turned around and looked up and at daniel in the eyes, still sitting up and waiting for him. he took a deep breath and began to drag himself out of bed.</p><p>“i'll cook breakfast, it's the least i can do,” he said, avoiding looking at daniel’s half naked body as he walked towards the bedroom door.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>daniel sat at the counter, chin resting in his hand as he watched noel work, making bacon and eggs on his stove, following his every movement with his eyes.</p><p>out of nowhere, noel stopped what he was doing, and stood in silence as he switched the stove off. he turned to daniel and raised his eyebrows. daniel looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. </p><p>noel said nothing, he moved to settle in front of daniel and took advantage of his resting on the counter, placing both of his hands on either side of him looking him up and down, a sparkle in his eyes.</p><p>“hey there.” daniel chuckled, running one finger over noel’s clothed chest. “you're overdressed for the party.”</p><p>noel smiled shyly and turned his face away from his glance, rolling his eyes and blushing. his confidence on the floor, daniel was too much, even for him.</p><p>he felt big hands on his waist, pulling the fabric up just enough to stroke his skin. </p><p>“off?” daniel asked, his voice a whisper that made noel shiver.</p><p>noel nodded and daniel wasted no time, pulling noel’s black shirt over his head and wrapping his arms tightly around his waist, pressing him closer. he felt the heat from the other man's body, the warmth of the skin and smelled the scent of him like it was heaven. </p><p>he was still so starstruck and in awe that he barely had time to look and admire him;<em> the </em> daniel ricciardo, bare chested and flustered, for him, <em> only </em> for him. he swallowed, still watching daniel’s brown eyes. </p><p>they looked each other; noel felt his heart pounding hard against his chest, loud in his ears. he swallowed again, wanted to lose some of the eye contact, but he wasn't able to look away. those eyes had something that was fascinating him deep down in his chest, and he could feel heat travel down his body. </p><p>daniel brought one hand to rest on noel’s shoulder blades, stroking his skin softly, making him twitch. he carefully started to dig his fingers deeper into the skin, so deep it was probably gonna leave fingernail shaped bruises.</p><p>they didn't say anything, and noel thought they didn't need to. he closed his eyes and suddenly, finally felt warm lips against his, asking for a kiss, and he accepted it.</p><p>one kiss, then another one, deepening more and more as the seconds went by, and noel couldn't believe it. he gasped softly when they broke apart for a second; he was feeling so dizzy that he didn't want to open his eyes. </p><p>he didn't have to either, not even two seconds later he felt the soft brush of daniel’s lips against his again, and he felt his hands slip up and curl up in his neck to pull him even closer into him, their hips flushed together. noel felt his dick twitching, and heat pooling on his stomach even more when he felt daniel’s tongue asking for permission, noel moaned into his mouth and granted him entrance, pulling himself closer until their clothed erections brushed against each other.</p><p>“holy shit.” daniel whispered on noel’s mouth, parting for a second to catch his breath. noel whined in response, not wanting him away.</p><p>daniel chuckled and smoothly flipped them over so noel was the one against the counter, allowing daniel’s tall figure to hover over him, his gaze dark and blissful.</p><p>noel felt like he was in heaven when he felt daniel’s hands pressing him hard against the cold marble counter, it shortly hurt his back, but he didn't really care. it was too good. and when he felt daniel’s hard dick against his thigh, he was ready for anything he would want to give him. he smiled softly, breaking the kiss.</p><p>“you like that, hm?” daniel whispered, lowering his head and sucking on noel’s neck.</p><p>“yes, i-” daniel thrust his hips forward a little and noel’s sentence was cut off, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. “fuck.” </p><p>“yeah, i see…” he said, his lips ghosting his collarbone. he reached around and cupped noel’s ass and squeezed, causing him to moan loudly. daniel cooed, “good.”</p><p>"please." noel begged, placing his sweaty forehead against daniel’s chest. daniel brought a hand down and faintly outlined noel’s dick. noel gasped and clung onto daniel's tattooed arm, "shit. should we-”</p><p>daniel shushed him. "want to do it here." </p><p>noel nodded, loosening his grip on daniel and carefully sneaking his hand between their bodies to stroke him over the fabric of his sweatpants. he bit his lip when daniel moaned, low and deep in his throat.</p><p>god, he wanted nothing more than for daniel to fall apart for him.</p><p>“let me-” noel muttered, pushing daniel off tenderly. daniel obeyed and let noel guide him, hand on his chest. </p><p>noel carefully pushed him to rest on the island counter that was in front of them, where noel had placed two glasses of water, long forgotten. when he was comfortable with daniel’s placement, he dropped to his knees confidently, looking up at daniel and biting his lower lip, waiting.</p><p>daniel nodded, and noel pulled his pants and underwear down in one go,️ moaning when daniel’s tattooed thigh came into vision. he sighed loudly as he took his dick in his mouth, starting to suck the tip slowly, it felt heavy on his tongue and he loved it. his hands moved so they were tracing the ink on his skin with his fingers.</p><p>he sucked the precum from the tip as it smeared across his lips. sinking as far down as he could, daniel keened over him. his thighs flexed under noel’s fingertips as he pressed on them. he squirmed at the feeling of his mouth as noel took him deeper, he stroked a hand on his cheeks and gasped when noel sucked harder, his head rolling back, having to bring a hand to steady himself on the surface.</p><p>noel pulled out and slapped his dick against his resting tongue. daniel groaned and guided it on his open mouth again, noel lowered on his knees, allowing him to buck his hips upwards to fuck his mouth. </p><p>noel moaned around him, allowing him to press deeper, his spit dribbled around his length as daniel thrust in his mouth, bucking his hips in a rhythm while pushing noel’s head still with one of his hands.</p><p>noel pulled off gasping for air, and daniel motioned for him to come up, immediately pressing him back against the marble counter, attacking his lips hungrily. noel gasped in surprise and finally had enough courage to tangle his fingers in daniel’s curls, which somehow felt more intimate than sucking his dick.</p><p>daniel groaned into noel’s mouth and pressed his nails on his hips as they kissed. taking too much time. far too much. he rubbed circles into his tan skin, sneaked his palm inside his pants to grab his ass, making him whine and pull at his hair softly as a reflex.</p><p>daniel raised his head and looked down into noel’s eyes. then nibbled his ear. he also whispered in it, his breath hot and his promises hotter. “i'm going to fuck you, noel,” he stopped talking and tugged on noel’s earlobe with his teeth, “is that alright?”</p><p>noel made a sound that might have been yes, as daniel trailed his wet tongue down to his collarbone. he traced it then moved lower, to the skin around his nipple.</p><p>“god, i want you so bad.” he kissed one nipple then moved across, sucking the other one until it peaked and noel let out a strangled moan.</p><p>noel looked a little unsure all of a sudden. “do you have-”</p><p>“yeah,” daniel answered before noel asked. “give me one second.”</p><p>daniel sprinted to his room, hopefully getting lube, and noel was left there. there, in daniel ricciardo’s kitchen, half naked and hard, about to have sex with him.</p><p>are we sure he isn't dreaming?</p><p>thankfully, daniel came back before noel self induced a panic attack, holding a small bottle of lube and immediately kissing noel again, making all of his worry evaporate into thin air.</p><p>he coated two of his fingers with lube and watched as noel pulled his pants down, his dick finally coming into view, and daniel wrapped his hand around him, looking into his eyes.</p><p>“jump?” he asked noel.</p><p>noel positioned himself so he could easily jump on top of the counter, it was cold, and he hissed as he watched daniel’s face twist into a smile.</p><p>daniel ran his lubed hand over noel’s ass, pausing for a quick tease with his finger. he lifted noel’s legs and wrapped them around his waist.</p><p>noel realized daniel was hesitating. “go ahead. you won’t hurt me.” </p><p>they both knew he was lying. daniel was big and it had been a long time since he’d been with a man. he didn’t care, though. he wanted daniel, and wanted him now.</p><p>daniel nodded and pushed slowly. noel took a deep breath and tried to relax around him.</p><p>“oh god,” daniel uttered as he pressed himself inside noel. </p><p>“fuck.” noel whispered. he was so full, and it hurt. hurt so good.</p><p>daniel moved slowly, taking his time. noel could feel him tremble with the effort it was taking to hold back. he pulled out for a second, poured more lube in his hand and rubbed it on himself as he pressed into noel again. it helped, and noel felt his body finally relaxing enough so he could enjoy it. </p><p>daniel slid in and out, and noel could feel all of him. it didn't take longer for his fingers to find his curls again, he pulled playfully, and daniel kissed his shoulder.</p><p>“you okay?” daniel asked as he leaned over and put his hands on the marble on either side of noel.</p><p>“god, yes.”</p><p>daniel leaned down to kiss noel again. he put his hands under his ass to lift him up and slammed deep into him. noel looked into daniel’s eyes and they were almost black as he strained to hold back. he was breathing hard through his mouth. his fingers dug into noel’s ass as he thrust deep again and again.</p><p>noel pulled his hair as he clenched around him, working hard to make him come, wringing the orgasm out of him.</p><p>“shit.” noel felt him spilling inside him, felt his dick pulse as daniel buried himself inside him. he ground into noel as he moaned out loud. he stayed there, buried inside him with his arms on either side of him. noel whined and wrapped his arms around him, kissing his chest and collarbones, holding him close as he caught his breath. </p><p>after a minute or two, daniel looked up at noel and smiled. “your turn.”</p><p>noel nodded excitedly, surprised by daniel's stamina, and ran his hands on daniel’s back, pressing down with his nails playfully.</p><p>“how do you want me?” daniel was still looking down at him, his gaze still hungry as it was.</p><p>“want to ride you.” he blushed when the words came out, drifting his gaze over.</p><p>daniel smiled lazily. “yeah?”</p><p>“god, yes. i want it so bad.”</p><p>daniel pulled out, and moved to sit on a chair, waiting for noel. noel got down from the counter, and realized how much his back hurt. he paid it no mind, as he watched daniel lazily stroke himself for him. </p><p>“fuck, i think i'm gonna enjoy this." daniel groaned out softly, making noel laugh and shake his head as he sat on top of him. he made a noise of complaint in the back of his throat, as he trailed his hand behind his ass, teasing his entrance as he stared down at daniel just below the heavy lids of his eyes.</p><p>noel pressed two fingers against himself, shuddering as he felt daniel’s gaze tore through him. he felt so bare. it horrified him, it also excited him, he loved it.</p><p>“you're fucking gorgeous, you know that?" daniel whispered, his voice sweet, coated with lust. he stared at noel kneeling above him, his gaze concentrated with stretching himself, his dick hard under his hot stare. </p><p>noel pulled his fingers out and opened his eyes to see his lover’s brown hues glazed over for him, his vision fuzzy yet sharp all at the same time. noel buried his head on daniel’s shoulder as he searched for his dick, positioning himself.</p><p>“shit," noel’s mouth parted when he sunk down, feeling daniel filling him for the second time in less than twenty minutes. "god.”</p><p>“so tight," daniel breathed through the electrifying sensation, as noel eased onto him more and more. “so good," he clutched at the arm rests of the chair as noel gritted his teeth.</p><p>noel paused when he was halfway down, before pulling out so only the head was still inside him. daniel looked up at him, his bottom lip between his teeth as he waited.</p><p>he dropped straight down, daniel’s head flew back into the chair with a loud moan as noel exhaled shakily at the sudden jolt inside him.</p><p>daniel’s decision to just lay back was wearing away at how good noel felt. he began cursing as he rode him experimentally, panting and losing his own control. the force he was gripping the chair with was hurting his hands as he was completely lost in the hot feeling of his dick sucked inside noel over and over.</p><p>“daniel," noel knocked his head back as his hips rolled and rose fluidly, as he lost himself in the pleasure. "daniel...”</p><p>“don’t- don't say my name like that..." daniel bit out his beg as his body tensed, he kissed noel’s shoulder, sucking a small mark on top of his collarbone. "you can’t just say my name like that.”</p><p>he let out a strangled whine as noel just kept riding him. words didn’t exist anymore, only guttural sounds and moans spilled from them. daniel let noel do all the work, and noel was enjoying himself maybe way too much. </p><p>hands found curls again, and noel pulled insistently as he hit his prostate repeatedly, fucking himself deeper on daniel. “i'm- i'm close.”</p><p>daniel nodded, lifting his hips up to be met with noel’s thrusts, and he was a goner. daniel spilled out with a groan, with noel still riding him as they both came. they gasped as they stared at each other in the consuming afterglow, panting deeply and sweating.</p><p>noel lifted himself up and let daniel pull out of him sluggishly, resting his warm face on daniel’s heaving chest with a sleepy smile.</p><p>“so tell me, what won you over last night? was it my sparkling personality, or how well i can handle my alcohol?” noel asked and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep right there, giving a sleepy kiss to daniel's sweaty chest. </p><p>it was a joke, and daniel laughed. “it was actually your dancing.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“you don't have to drive me home. i can call an uber, i'm sure i can also get the bus from here.” noel said, tilting his head to the side, looking into daniel’s eyes as they walked together to his car.</p><p>“it's nothing. i have nothing until later today.” daniel smiled, a smile that noel knew he would not take no for an answer. </p><p>it was unfair really, how could noel refuse when daniel looked at him like that? he even ushered him to the car and held the passenger's door open for him. noel hesitated for only a second before he climbed in, settling into the smooth leather seat. he fidgeted, sweaty hands fumbling to buckle the seatbelt.</p><p>“are you sure this is okay? aren't you worried?” noel asked as daniel climbed into the driver's seat. </p><p>the car alone would stand out, sleek and polished. it looked brand new, and probably costed more than what noel makes in a year. it would look horribly out of place pulling up outside his apartment complex. and then there was <em>the</em> daniel ricciardo driving it, they might as well walk around with a giant, neon arrow pointing at them.</p><p>“why should i worry?”</p><p>noel tugged at his seatbelt and scratched his chin. “just- you know? being seen with me? i'm no one, press will have a field day.”</p><p>“it's none of their business who i spend my free time with,” daniel said, in a tone that left no room for argument. “and baby, you are someone, someone special. don’t ever doubt that.”</p><p>heat flooded noel's face at the pet name, he could feel it all the way to the tips of his ears and down the back of his neck, and he quickly bowed his head, trying to hide his blushing. “oh- okay.”</p><p>what could he even say? it was like a dream, but a dream that would soon come to an end. as kind and passionate as daniel had been with him the whole morning, noel knew there was little chance of him seeing him again, but oh, he would treasure these moments, and those words, for the rest of his life.</p><p>“here,” was the only warning noel received before daniel tossed a small, rectangular object at him, which landed in his lap. his phone.</p><p>“what's this?”</p><p>“my phone. put your number in there," daniel flashed noel a cocky grin before firing up the engine with a press of a button. the car purred to life and moved soundlessly, as if they were gliding down the long, winding driveway.</p><p>“you want my number?” noel held the phone in his hands, grip lax, not quite sure what to do with it.</p><p>“so i can call you, of course. but if you'd rather you can take my number instead, and call me. but if you do that you have to promise you're gonna.” daniel turned to wink at noel, before driving through a set of heavy iron gates that opened automatically.</p><p>“you're being serious?”</p><p>daniel's attention remained on the road, and he didn't answer, but the big smile on his face told noel he wasn't joking.</p><p>noel laughed, “fine," he turned to the phone with a determined grin, his fingers moving quickly across the screen typing in his information. when he was done he lifted the phone, pulled his best look, held up a peace sign, and snapped a quick selfie to add to his contact details. “here we go.”</p><p>he rolled his eyes and faked annoyance, but the flush in his cheeks betrayed him.</p><p>“i also need your address to get you home, baby.”</p><p>noel gave it. the fact that daniel kept calling him baby made him nervous, more so than he was already. noel inched forward in his seat and felt daniel’s hand place cautiously on his thigh, rubbing his thumb softly.</p><p>they drove for a few more minutes, noel was smiling the whole time but he didn't dare to look away from the window and check if daniel is too, instead he relished on the feeling of his warm hand on his leg.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>daniel pulled over on noel’s parking spot, and pretended to look for something in the compartment by noel’s side, before ducking away and looking into his eyes.</p><p>“hey.” </p><p>noel smiled and rolled his eyes when daniel got closer to him, raising an eyebrow. daniel’s nose brushed against his, he was twisted awkwardly but there was a warm breath against his lips. tilting his head, noel closed his eyes and connected their mouths.</p><p>something exploded inside noel’s head, he was still so surprised that daniel wanted him. <em>actually</em> wanted him, and didn’t seem to get enough of him even though they had spent all morning having sex in his kitchen.</p><p>daniel changed the angle to be able to deepen the kiss, soft quickly turning heavy, slow drags of their lips, languid slides of their tongues. drawing breath in the small, warm space between them was sedating, exhausting and noel felt his mind go fuzzy. </p><p>“we need to stop doing this everywhere but in a bed,” noel said with a laugh, pulling away and biting his bottom lip.</p><p>daniel smiled at him and ran his hand on his shoulders. “why? it's fun.” noel tiled his head and smiled. daniel leaned in, smirking again, so their noses were almost touching. “you're cute when you blush.”</p><p>noel rested his forehead against his. daniel pressed his mouth against his chin, before nuzzling at his jaw. “can you kiss me again?”</p><p>daniel hummed against his skin, pulling his lips into his. noel let his hands creep up the sides of daniel’s bearded face, swiping his thumbs over his cheeks as he went.</p><p>“it's like i can’t get enough of you.” it's whispered, a teasing, hot breeze against the shell of noel's ear. he moaned in approval and deepened the kiss. daniel pulled him close and then they were flush against each other. </p><p>noel had never really made out on a car with anyone before. <em> it was fun </em>when he was straddling daniel’s lap, he could pull back when the contact was too overwhelming and push down when he needed it again.</p><p>daniel seemed to like it, too. he mouthed at noel’s pulse point and adam’s apple and smirked when he earned a breathless whimper. noel got him back by nipping at his earlobe, rewarded by the moan he lets out, he sucked on it to feel daniel arch up into him.</p><p>“you like that?” noel asked with a smirk, liking the power he had over daniel.</p><p>he got a growl and a hungry kiss in response. daniel’s hands flew up his sides and curled in his neck, angling noel’s mouth in a way he could devour it. </p><p>“i have to let you go. i have a meeting.” daniel murmured after a while, nuzzling his way up noel’s nose. he pressed kisses to noel’s forehead, moving down to his cheeks, pressing one quickly to each ear, then brushing his lips over closed eyelids, until they both bursted into giggles. </p><p>noel pulled away and checked his phone for the time, noticing that not only it was almost three, but he had three missed calls from cody. a set of messages came through as he was holding the phone, daniel tapped to open them and;</p><p><b>cody</b>: noel????</p><p><b>cody</b>: did u forget we were filming??</p><p><b>cody</b>: what the fuck</p><p>noel's eyes widened and he got off daniel’s lap, urgently typing a reply to cody as he sat back down on the passenger seat. “shit, i forgot.”</p><p>daniel looked at him, stroking and squeezing his shoulder with his right hand. “is everything alright, baby?”</p><p>noel nodded and locked his phone again. “yeah, everything is fine,” he leaned in to kiss daniel for the last time, relishing in his scent and feel, closing his eyes as he leaned into him. “i'll see you soon?”</p><p>he reached for the door handle and opened it, leaning his feet on the ground. daniel nodded at him and he looked almost sad to let him go. “i'll text you.” he said, with a wink before turning the engine back on.</p><p>noel watched as daniel drove away in his shiny car, and he was left there, in his shitty apartment complex parking lot.</p><p>he felt weird as he walked to the entrance, like he just got out the cinema, like a spell broke.</p><p>he locked the heavy door behind him. ollie hurried to greet him and he was petting him behind his ear when he felt his phone vibrate inside his back pocket.</p><p><b>unknown number</b>: hey :) miss you like crazy already. see you tomorrow?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>daniel pulled the key from the ignition and opened his door before stepping out and slamming it behind him. he quickly walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door to let noel out, bowing slightly forward and holding his hand out for him to take, making noel laugh and shake his head at him.</p><p>he locked the car behind them, and began to guide noel towards the entrance of a high-end looking restaurant. it had a tall set of glass double doors, surrounded by synthetic rose petals, and two men, one at each side of the big door, wearing expensive looking suits, ready to admit customers inside the restaurant.</p><p>noel looked and felt uneasy as they neared the entrance, his shoulders tensed, and a lump formed in his throat. daniel <em> did </em> tell him to dress nice, and he threw on his favorite pair of jeans and a button up. but this… he really went all out, and noel was fairly out of his element.</p><p>“is everything okay?” daniel whispered to him, reaching to hold his hand, trying to reassure him.</p><p>“yes, i'm just- i don’t know,” noel glanced down at his feet, avoiding daniel’s eyes and any possible embarrassment.</p><p>“hey, it's fine, i'm here with you,” daniel said, earning a pink flush on noel’s cheeks and a small smile.</p><p>noel nodded and tightened the grip on daniel’s hand reassuringly, stroking the rose tattooed on his skin with this thumb.</p><p>the doormen pulled the glass panels back as the pair approached, letting them into the main dining area. the interior was lavishly decorated, fine detail on everything in the room right up to the minuscule carvings on the ceiling work. a man in a bright white suit met them at the waiting desk and pulled out two menus from a shelf beneath the surface. </p><p>“ricciardo?” he asked, looking up and daniel and immediately nodding at him, completely ignoring noel’s presence.</p><p>he confirmed that it was just the two of them, and then leads them to a small round table next to the large aquatic piece at the back of the restaurant. the whole wall was a giant fish tank, filled with every type of fish imaginable, even… small sharks? noel didn't know what those really were.</p><p>noel seemed to relax once he sat down and stared into the menu, his eyes scanning his options for the evening and getting stimulated by the pictures.</p><p>he swallowed and his eyes widened, “holy shit, this is expensive. we can go somewhere else, you know. i don’t mind, it’s not like i-”</p><p>daniel just smiled warmly at him and laid his menu on the table as he looked into noel’s eyes, his head tilting to the side, and then returning upright.</p><p>“it's fine, i got it. pick what you want, and enjoy it. it's our first official date, gotta be good, right?” daniel raised his eyebrows and licked his lips, before smiling at noel. </p><p>noel couldn't help but smile back at daniel, his affection for him relieving every worry in his mind, and that only made daniel smile even wider. his beautiful smile, god. noel still couldn’t believe it. when daniel smiled, the whole room light up, and noel fell for him even more, every single time.</p><p>daniel flashed him another grin before he raised an eyebrow. “go on, pick something. what do you want?” he said, teasing him with a wink.</p><p>noel quickly picked the menu back up, trying to hide the blush that formed on his face. he scanned the items with his eyes, and finally set on honey lemon chicken.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>they ordered and the food arrived in only ten minutes, noel is surprised, really, but he guessed he shouldn't be. it’s an expensive restaurant after all.</p><p>“how is it?” noel started, taking a break from his dish to drink some champagne, daniel raised his eyebrows at him. “i mean, being a professional driver?”</p><p>daniel rolled his eyes playfully and ran a hand through his hair. “it's fun, i love it. it doesn't leave you with much time to-”</p><p>“date? i know.” noel said with a sigh, once again reminding himself that this is not a forever thing, daniel is not his boyfriend and probably will never be. he’s not gonna take him to races and kiss him when he gets a podium he’s-</p><p>“i meant- be home.” daniel sighed deeply, interrupting noel’s train of thought. “i don’t get to see my family for months, you know?”</p><p>noel wanted to hit himself in the face, of course. of course daniel misses his family. what was he thinking? he wanted to scream and melt in his chair.</p><p>“i’m sorry, daniel. i-”</p><p>"don't apologise.” daniel muttered and reached over to hold noel’s hand in his. “i understand how you feel. but i promise i want to make this work, i haven't felt like this in a long time.”</p><p>noel looked down at their hands and didn't reply, just relished on daniel’s thumb stroking his skin. they stay quiet for a few seconds, noel didn't really know what to say but as daniel locked eyes with him when he went back to his food, he knew he could trust him.</p><p>“you said you are a youtuber? how’s that? what do you post? it better not be pranks. god- i hate pranks.” daniel laughed loudly and noel shook his head as he chuckled.</p><p>“no, no. no pranks.” he said, “i post mainly comedy- sketches and stuff, you know? i also live stream- on twitch.”</p><p>daniel opened his eyes and noel thinks he’s gonna start jumping like a little kid. “twitch? no way. that's so cool.”</p><p>noel laughed and brushed it off with his hand.</p><p>“no, no, baby. it's really cool.” daniel smiled and leaned forward, ready to shoot noel with questions. “can i be in one of your streams? please- say yes.”</p><p>noel frowned in surprise, not expecting that at all from him. “yeah, of course, of course you can.” </p><p>daniel smiled excitedly. “what else do you do?”</p><p>“i- i make music, i also have a podcast with my friend cody it's- nothing really.”</p><p>“music, really? no way!” daniel was smiling so wide noel thought something inside him might melt. “can i hear?”</p><p>“sure i- i’ll show you, next time?”</p><p>daniel nodded, and noel is so happy he almost wanted to cry. “you're so cool. cooler than me, maybe.” noel laughed and shook his head. “i mean that.” daniel adds, winking at him again.</p><p>daniel bursted out laughing too, and noel felt that warm feeling settle on top of his stomach again, and suddenly it all felt like a fairytale he didn't want to stop reading.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>an hour and a half passed and noel didn't think he'd had this much fun on a first date before. daniel asked for the bill and he whistled, his eyes widened as he looked at the total. </p><p>noel instantly reached for his wallet. “let me see, i can cover some of it.” he said, motioning to daniel with his hand.</p><p>daniel shoot noel a look before fetching his own wallet from the inside pocket of his coat. “don't even think about it, baby. this is me taking you on a date. i can cover it, don’t worry about it, okay?” </p><p>noel nodded and returned his wallet to his pocket, watching as daniel placed three fifty dollar bills onto the silver tray. </p><p>“tip goes in too, calm down.” he laughed as he watched noel’s terrified face. </p><p>daniel stood up, offering his hand to noel. noel grinned at him and took it, letting himself be guided towards the exit and daniel’s shiny car. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the car ride was pleasant, daniel’s hand found its way to noel’s leg and he couldn't be happier. they agreed on going to noel’s place, and daniel was very insistent on it, even though noel was kind of embarrassed of his crappy apartment, compared to daniel’s spacious flat.</p><p>daniel parked smoothly on the same spot where he dropped noel off a few days earlier. he jumped off the car and immediately rushed around to let noel out of the passenger seat, hooking his arm around his waist and squeezing lightly.</p><p>the walk up the stairs to noel’s place at the end of the hallway was cut short, as daniel dropped his hand from noel’s waist and pushed him gently, but firmly, against the wall. noel wanted it, but he certainly did not want the whole floor to find out, so soon, at least.</p><p>“hey,” noel’s breath caught in his throat as he raised his eyes just in time to see daniel leaning down to capture his mouth in a hungry kiss.</p><p>noel hesitated for a second, his mind still screaming that they were still in the hallway and could be seen by anyone. his place’s just a few feet away, but his thoughts screeched to a halt when he felt daniel’s warm tongue against his mouth asking for entrance and he lost what little strength he had left. he opened his mouth allowing him to control the kiss and to take whatever it was that he needed from him. noel wrapped his arms tightly around his body, bringing him closer to him.</p><p>daniel pulled away first and noel’s lips chased his instinctively, still in bliss after kissing him. they were both already panting slightly, and noel had to look away from daniel’s eyes so that he could rummage in his pocket for his keys. he struggled to get the door to open.</p><p>they entered noel’s living room and ollie immediately rushed to greet noel, barking at daniel as a warning when he saw him. </p><p>“hey buddy.” noel said to the dog, stroking the back of his head. “this is ollie.” daniel nodded and crutched down so he could offer ollie his hand to smell. ollie looked at him but walked away, sitting on the couch and resting his head. “he’s a chiller.”</p><p>“at least he didn't bite me.” daniel said, getting up and straightening his clothes.</p><p>noel laughed and wrapped his arms around daniel’s neck, getting on his tippy toes to kiss him. daniel laughed too but kept kissing him. noel had a lot of energy all of a sudden, a rush of adrenaline ran down his spine.</p><p>daniel shimmied out of his jacket without separating their mouths, he even bit noel’s bottom lip for good measure. he stepped out of his shoes and left them behind as noel guided them to his bedroom. </p><p>hands traveled to the top button on noel’s shirt. “want you naked," daniel breathed, pressing his forehead against noel’s and breathing into his mouth.</p><p>noel nodded and went to work on sucking a mark on daniel’s neck as he fumbled with the top button, peeling it off quick enough. daniel took his t-shirt off over his head and immediately pressed their warm, bare chests together.</p><p>"can't wait to finally do it in a bed.” daniel said, teasing noel with a wink. noel groaned and shook his head, kissing him again, reaching to open the door to his bedroom and pushing daniel inside.</p><p>daniel didn't have enough time to examine the room before noel was kissing him again, pushing himself back on the bed and taking daniel’s arm so he’s is hovering over him.</p><p>noel groaned and tangled his fingers on daniel’s curls, pulling lightly when daniel pressed their crotches together, circling his hips.</p><p>"stop-" noel panted, grabbing on daniel’s hips to steady him. "i'm gonna- cum in my pants if you keep that up."</p><p>daniel kissed him quiet, a nip to his lower lip. "can't help it. i don't know what you do to me." a bite on his collarbone, gentle enough, but still made him gasp. "should've fucked you at that restaurant, you would've looked so good in the expensive tile bathrooms.”</p><p>"yeah?" noel closed his eyes and bared his neck for daniel to suck and bite, he would wear a turtleneck in august if he had to. he sneaked a hand in between their bodies and catched daniel’s nipple. "kitchen-,” he gasped when daniel bit down at the base of his neck, then licked the fresh teeth mark he'd just made. "kitchen counter was fun.”</p><p>"enough talkin'," daniel growled in his ear, feeling him shiver in his arms, he pinned him to the bed by the wrists and nearly suffocated him with his mouth as well as his toned body.</p><p>daniel pulled away to help noel out of his clothes, their hands sliding across every inch of hot skin as soon as it was exposed. noel hisses when his dick, bare and hard, rubbed against the tough denim of daniel's jeans.</p><p>he tugged at one of daniel's belt loops. "off. now.”</p><p>daniel shut him up with another hard kiss and noel swore he could feel the smirk against his lips. <em> oh, god. </em></p><p>hips ground, chests met, hands roamed. lips meshed and smacked, tongues met and explored. noel moaned freely, shamelessly into daniel's mouth and daniel drank it all up like he was strapped in, like he couldn't get enough. </p><p>noel managed to get daniel's jeans unbuttoned and wasted no time shoving a hand inside, stroking daniel's dick through his briefs, feeling it throb in his palm, hard and heavy and hot. inside his mind, noel saw himself as he was a few days ago, on his knees in the small space between daniel’s marble counters with his lips around daniel's dick, worshipping it with his mouth and tongue while daniel held his head still to fuck his throat. </p><p>then the scene changed to just moments later, this time with noel’s bare ass pressed on the cold marble, taking daniel with no prep in one go, tangling his hands on his curls like it's all he wanted to do forever.</p><p><em> god </em>, he needed daniel. craved him, even. he let him know without the words, whining against his lips, writhing under his body. daniel planted sloppy kisses along noel's jawline. </p><p>“tell me. tell me what you want." he said, smirking against his skin.</p><p>"anything. please," noel arched his back, bowing off the bed. daniel continued trailing his mouth down noel's neck and chest. "fuck me. fuck me hard."</p><p>he almost screamed when daniel stroked his dick and bit his nipple at the same time. he then lifted his head to look into his eyes, giving him a smile that in any other context would have made noel’s heart melt.</p><p>"of course.” </p><p>“second drawer,” noel let out when he saw daniel look around in the room.</p><p>daniel quickly reached for the drawer and fumbled around blindly for the bottle of lube noel kept in there.</p><p>daniel fingered noel fast, deep, with more than enough lube, and before noel can even catch his breath, he was teasing noel with the tip of his dick, making him whine and twitch in anticipation.</p><p>noel grabbed daniel’s arm, stroking the inked <em> love </em>on the skin on his forearm with his fingers and relishing on the feeling of his muscles as daniel pushed in, stretching him, one blissful inch at a time. </p><p>he thrusted in and out shallowly until he was completely in, then immediately set a relentless rhythm, hot skin against skin he pounded him into the mattress. each thrust forced a groan out of noel, loud and throaty, and he let daniel have it just as hard, pushing back against him as much as he could, nails digging into daniel's shoulders and scratching up his back.</p><p><em> god </em>, he needed this. he flexed his thighs around daniel's moving hips, slid his nose on daniel's sweaty skin just to feel him there. “daniel.” he said, making daniel take a deep breath.</p><p>daniel pulled back for just a moment to groan out, "fuck, shit- you're so fucking tight.”</p><p>noel grabbed the back of daniel's thighs. "harder."</p><p>he smirked and raises an eyebrow at him. "yeah?"</p><p>"fuck yeah."</p><p>"hands and knees."</p><p>noel shakily shuffled onto all fours, feeling daniel’s hot stare on him, taking a deep breath as he grabbed his hips and thrust back into him, fast and hard.</p><p>"shit,” noel hissed and scrambled for purchase in the sheets, twisting them in his fists.</p><p>daniel pulled out almost all the way, then fucked back in even faster. he picked up the same pace as before, fucking noel hard enough to make the whole bed move. he kept his grip on noel’s hips the entire time, jerking him back to meet his thrusts, hands leaving even more bruises on hips to match his neck. </p><p>daniel wrapped an arm around noel’s chest and pulled him up, so that he's half sitting on his lap with him still inside, sweaty back against his chest. a big hand wraps around his throat.</p><p>noel whined as daniel pressed down, not enough to cut his breathing but enough to make him swallow, hard. lips on his ear. he could hear daniel's laboured breathing. </p><p>"are you close?”</p><p>"y-yeah.” noel whined again, closing his eyes to keep balance.</p><p>daniel's other hand met his on his dick and they stroked it together, and noel found himself fucking upwards and clenching around daniel, the pleasure making him dizzy.</p><p>daniel loosened the grip on his throat. “say my name."</p><p>noel groaned and tilted his head back, resting on daniel’s shoulder. “daniel."</p><p>daniel moaned into his neck, his pace stuttered. he was close, noel saying his name always got him. "again."</p><p>"daniel…”</p><p>everything erupted into hot white as noel came hard, clenching around daniel, spilling into daniel's hand, onto himself and the sheets and everything and everywhere. daniel came too, just as loud, deep inside him, blissfully filling him. </p><p>they shook and shivered in each other's hold and it took a great effort for noel not to fall over daniel when he was finished, but he did. he braced himself on his forearms and slid out of daniel, slowly, relishing daniel's little hisses and twitches as he did. </p><p>noel would go and get a towel to clean up the two of them, but he had one hand tangled in daniel’s curls and was rubbing his scalp softly. leaving the bed is not an option. daniel smiled at him and kisses his jaw.</p><p>somehow, they managed to manoeuvre themselves down on the pillows. one of noel's arms was wrapped around daniel's shoulders and his leg was thrown over his, keeping him into place.</p><p>"i like your place," daniel said after a while, from somewhere close to noel's ear.</p><p>noel's eyes had drifted shut, but his lips curled into a smile. "i like you,” he mumbled. he felt boneless, spent, and didn't plan on moving from the bed in the next <em> forever </em>. he turned his head to nuzzle at daniel's shoulder, inhaling the smell of skin and sweat and sex.</p><p>daniel made a contented sound, like a cat being petted, and shifted a little under noel's weight. "i like you, too," he said. </p><p>noel smiled, turning his head to kiss daniel shortly, before setting back over the pillows, half over daniel, with him running his fingers down his spine.</p><p>noel buried his face in daniel's neck to stifle a sigh, breathed in the smell of skin and aftershave and sweat and said, "can you stay the night? do you have stuff to do?”</p><p>daniel's fingers stopped and settled over noel's tailbone. "of course i can stay," he said, and noel didn't need to look at him to know that he was smiling. </p><p>"mhm," noel smiled and kissed daniel’s chest, "i want to sleep next to you and actually remember it this time."</p><p>"i slept on the spare room," daniel laughed, his hand was heavy on noel's back, and warm, and it felt so nice to just lay there, “i didn't want you to wake up and think i took advantage of you." daniel said, thumb tracing small circles over noel's back.</p><p>"oh," noel says in a small voice, trying not to get lost in daniel's words and thinking it's not fair. </p><p>it's not at all fair because daniel has all this power over him and he can make him melt from the inside, and all noel can say in reply are inarticulate noises. then they're kissing, slowly, until noel loses track of everything but daniel's lips.</p><p>"you're so gorgeous," daniel said after the longest time.</p><p>noel leaned against daniel's chest and heard his heartbeat, just a bit faster than usual. he didn't say anything as he tucked his head under daniel's chin, their legs tangled together and noel felt himself melt on daniel’s touch, falling asleep like a baby in his arms.</p><p>and there was nowhere else he'd rather be.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> “hey.” </em>
</p><p>“what's up,” he says, the other end of the line is muffled but noel still smiles when he hears daniel’s voice through the phone. “it's late, thought you were asleep.”</p><p><em> “i was," </em>daniel says, and lets out a small laugh. “<em>i'm coming over to pick you up.” </em></p><p>noel opens his eyes and looks down on himself, splayed on the living room couch with one hand inside an oreo’s box and the other on his phone, ollie eyes him suspiciously.</p><p>“now?” daniel laughs at noel’s reaction. “where are we going?”</p><p>“<em>on a date.” </em></p><p>noel shakes his head and smiles. “yeah- but where?”</p><p>“<em>for pizza, is that alright?” </em> daniel says, and noel can hear the engine of daniel’s car starting up. “<em>i’ll be there in twenty.” </em></p><p>“see you then,” noel says and immediately hangs up, sprinting out of the couch and into the shower, followed by a curious ollie that just sits next to the door, waiting for him to go back.</p><p>he doesn't know what to wear, of course he doesn't. this is daniel who he is going on a date with, and even though it's been a few weeks, he's still not used to it.</p><p>he decides on a hoodie and a normal pair of jeans, it's just pizza at ten p.m anyway, right? he smiles as he pets a disappointed ollie that only wants to sleep.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: i'm here :)</p><p>noel gets his keys, phone and wallet, checking twice before closing the door behind him. he rushes down the stairs and finds daniel resting on his car door, waiting for him. he raises his eyes from his phone and smiles at noel, wide and bright, opening his arms to greet him.</p><p>noel smiles when daniel hugs him, relishing in the feeling of his warm body against his, and the smooth fabric of his sweater.</p><p>“you look good,” noel says, and daniel squeezes his shoulders a little. “where are you taking me?” </p><p>daniel doesn't say anything and just pulls away from the hug to kiss him gently for a moment, before drawing away with a grin. “for pizza.”</p><p>noel raises an eyebrow as he looks at daniel, his fingers tightening just a little on his hip. he smirks twisted in his grasp as they reach the car, backing up and pulling daniel with him before wrapping his arms around his neck and pushing his fingers into his hair.</p><p>“you already said that,” he pulls daniel flush against him and gets on his tippy toes to press their lips together for another kiss. </p><p>“my favourite pizza place in la,” daniel murmurs, barely pulling away from noel’ lips to speak, “i missed you.”</p><p>noel chuckles and tilts his head away, knowing if he let daniel continue they will just stand there kissing for the rest of the night. “i missed you, too.”</p><p>noel manages to manhandle daniel away from him and pull open the door, sliding into the car gracefully and tugging the door shut before daniel can protest. he jumps in the driver's seat, smoothly starting the vehicle up with a roar. </p><p>flashing a smile at noel, who smiles fondly back, he pulls out of the parking lot and guns it down the street. it doesn't take them long to get to the restaurant, it's too late for venice traffic, anyway, and the place isn't so far from noel’s apartment complex.</p><p>noel holds daniel’s hand when he rests it on his leg, and he can't help but smile over at him as his face colors slightly at the light touch of soft skin. daniel’s hands are gentle, he learned. and he can't help but think about them on his throat and hips. he shakes his head as daniel pulls carefully into the restaurant’s parking lot.</p><p>the waiter smiles when he saw daniel, clearly recognising him, noel wonders if it was because he is a regular or because he <em> is </em>the daniel ricciardo, after all.</p><p>once they're seated, the waiter scurries off and noel watches her from the corner of his eye, making a beeline for the other servers near the kitchen hatch. turning his attention back to the menu, noel picks out a beer, some local brew he found he had a taste for, and begins to look over the pizzas before he realises daniel isn't doing the same.</p><p>“are you okay?” he asks, tilting his head to the side curiously.</p><p>“yeah, i already know what i'm getting.” he says, and winks at noel suggestively.</p><p>“yeah, sure,” noel rolls his eyes at daniel and smiles. “i'll have what you have,” noel links their fingers together and squeezes gently just as their waiter returns to the table with a big smile. noel moves as if to pull back but daniel tightens his grip and looks up at the waiter, giving her a bright, sunny smile. </p><p>“good night, gentlemen,” her tone’s bubbly and noel can tell she is doing her best not to look at their hands. “can i take your drink order?” </p><p>“i’d love this beer here,” noel points with his free hand, “baby, what are you thinking?” </p><p>daniel manages not to splutter at the pet name or the way noel’s needling their waiter and just nods. “i'll have the same,” he said, surprised at how steadily the words come out. noel doesn't stop smiling as the waiter scribbles down their orders and takes away the wine glasses.</p><p>“what was that all about?” daniel asks, side-eyeing the waiter as she returns to the bar and gestures to the barman.</p><p>“nothing, i just like you,” noel smiles warmly, squeezing daniel’s hand with gentle fingers.</p><p>daniel gets the sudden urge to lean over and kiss noel, so he does, regardless of where they are. he rises out of his seat and brushes his lips across noel’s, just a light, shy peck to show his affection and appreciation for him, before he sits back down and smiles. </p><p>“i like you too,” daniel laughs and noel shakes his head with a wry smile.</p><p>“i have something to show you.” noel says, and daniel raises his eyebrows at him with a smile, watching as noel takes his phone out, connected to his headphones and places it on the table, opening the messages app. “it's a song. from my ep. do you wanna listen?”</p><p>daniel nods excitedly. and noel hands him an earbud, placing the other one on his ear. he waits until daniel has it in and presses play, his heart beating loudly in his ears.</p><p>daniel doesn't say anything for the first half of the song, just lets it play in his ears, then smiles brightly when the bridge cames on for the second time. he waits until noel turns it off to speak.</p><p>“that's amazing, baby. i can’t believe you.” he says, holding noel’s hand on his own again, bringing it up to kiss it lightly.</p><p>noel smiles. “i'm glad you like it, it's something different.”</p><p>“of course i do.”</p><p>noel can't help but smile, hardly even noticing the waiter bringing their drinks. they stare at one another for a long moment, somehow unable to tear their eyes away from each other until the waiter returns and clears her throat loudly. </p><p>“can i take your order?” </p><p>noel stares at daniel for a second then smiles warmly, flicking his gaze up to the waiter then back to daniel’s eyes. </p><p>“we’ll share a pepperoni, thin crust please.” he purrs in reply and noel chuckles, nodding.</p><p>she smiles and quickly scribbles down their order. “will be just a few minutes,” she says, then rushes away to the kitchen, leaving them.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>their food is brought by a different waitress, she slides a huge ice cream sundae complete with two spoons onto their table with a wink after she takes away their pizza dish. </p><p>“that's on the house” she explains when daniel quirks an eyebrow at her, she giggles. “enjoy, guys, and by the way! you two look really good together!”</p><p>noel smiles down at the table, his face flushing red as daniel squeezes his hand and thanks the waitress for both the dessert and the compliment. she breezes away with another bright smile and leaves them to dig into the thick italian gelatto enthusiastically. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>it's almost one a.m when they leave the diner, satisfied and full, with a bright smile, holding hands as they make their way back to daniel’s car.</p><p>“where to now?” noel asks, and daniel smiles at him. “are you tired?”</p><p>“kind of wanted to go for a drive.” daniel says, and holds the passenger door open for noel. “the hills look great at night.”</p><p>“what are you suggesting?” noel raises his eyebrows as he watches daniel sit down on the driver's seat and fumble with his keys.</p><p>“nothing, absolutely nothing.” daniel laughs and turns the engine on, giving noel a wink. “are we going?”</p><p>noel nods and kisses daniel’s shoulder before buckling his seatbelt. closing his eyes softly as he lets daniel drive them through the city.</p><p>“don’t fall asleep,” daniel says, rubbing his hand on noel’s arm with a smile. “we are almost there.”</p><p>noel laughs and wraps his arms around daniel’s hand, kissing his knuckles softly. "i won't.”</p><p>it’s a clear night and they can see the stars and the distant orange glow of the city from where daniel turns. the purr of the engine and the crunch of the dirt road overpowers whatever song is playing on the radio, their steady crawl coming to a halt in the silhouette of a sign.</p><p>daniel rubs his thumb on the leather of the steering wheel, not sure how to go from here, while noel fiddles mindlessly with the radio to turn it off.</p><p>"should we-"</p><p>“do you-”</p><p>they stumble over one another, they chuckle, their eyes meet and noel smiles. daniel takes a deep breath, looking into noel’s eyes. he looks nervous, and noel understands.</p><p>“come here,” noel mutters, motioning for daniel to move in closer. he lifts his arms so daniel is flush against his chest. daniel seeks out his mouth, he kisses him gently, exploring like it's the first time they kiss. it makes noel shiver, and he almost wants to cry.</p><p>“will you date me?” daniel says as they eventually pull apart. </p><p>noel smiles and opens his eyes wide at the question, not having expected that, at all. “are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”</p><p>daniel laughs and smiles, leaning forward to kiss noel’s nose and hold his face with his hands. “i am."</p><p>“i guess, i guess i can be your boyfriend.” noel rolls his eyes playfully and wraps his arms around daniel’s neck, shuffling a little on the small space of the car.</p><p>daniel looks at him like he has gifted him the sun. noel ignores the lump that forms in his throat as he leans back in to kiss daniel, more insistently this time.</p><p>“what's the rush?” daniel smiles against noel’s mouth, earning a groan in response.</p><p>with hooded eyes, noel grabs <em> his </em>   <em> boyfriend </em> by his sweater collar and yanks him closer. “i need you.”</p><p>“mhm.” daniel smirks and bits noel’s lower lip, watching noel’s needy eyes. he places both of his hands on noel’s thighs and squeezes lightly. “what do you need?”</p><p>"you," noel groans into daniel’s mouth as he reaches down to unbutton his jeans. daniel smiles between kisses. he’s working as fast as noel is to take their clothes off, sliding noel’s jeans down eagerly. </p><p>“you're so fucking hot,” he says before bodily lifting noel and flipping him around so his back is pressed into the cold door and then daniel is kneeling on the car floor, somehow, which is actually pretty impressive considering how tall he is.</p><p>when daniel actually licks his lips it takes every fiber of noel’s willpower not to come right then. luckily, daniel is clearly not in the mood to tease, he just leans forward, his hands braced on noel’s thighs for balance, he presses his nails down as he swipes his tongue over the head, he gathers up the liquid there before quickly sinking down with a muffled moan, as though he’s been starving for it.</p><p>it’s too much, too fast, daniel’s dark curls bob in his lap and hot, wet suction is around his dick. daniel’s weight is on his thighs and the possibility of getting caught rings on the back of his mind, and it really is almost no time at all before noel can feel his orgasm building up. </p><p>he tugs urgently on daniel’s hair, trying to warn him, but daniel just tightens his grip and sinks his mouth down a little further and noel whines as he comes, an awful desperate sound that should embarrass him but it feels too good to care, daniel’s tongue soothes him through the aftershocks before pulling off and resting his face against his thigh.</p><p>when the pulse pounding in his ears fades, he realizes daniel is panting, almost trembling against his leg. </p><p>noel whines and daniel smiles at him, lifting himself up to press their panting mouths together. daniel pulls off for air, and brings their foreheads together, whispering, “i love you, noel."</p><p>noel’s fingers find daniel’s curls again and he presses their lips together to avoid saying it back, daniel groans in protest but sighs deeply when noel’s hand finds his dick in the dark, palming him insistently through his clothes.</p><p>strong fingers curl into the back of noel’s neck, he bits daniel’s bottom lip with a smile, before dragging his nose down his cheek, starting to kiss him behind his ear, his stubble scraping his cheek in the process. </p><p>“noel,” daniel whines, his whole body aching to be touched.</p><p>“yeah, danny?” noel growls, dragging his teeth over the sensitive skin of daniel’s throat. daniel moans at the name and digs his nails on noel's knee.</p><p>“can you- please, do something.”</p><p>noel palms daniel softly, licking his lips in anticipation. “you're so hard for me already,” he breathes, catching daniel’s mouth and entwining their tongues, kissing him deeply while he frantically undoes his zipper. </p><p>noel pulls him free from his underwear and begins to properly stroke him, rubbing his thumb on the tip, daniel’s hands crawl over his arms, his chest, grazing his body a few times and he nearly lifts him to his side of the car.</p><p>“fuck, noel,” daniel breaks away from the kiss. “go, please.”</p><p>noel’s eyes meet his and he nods, daniel’s fingers find the back of his head again and he shoves his head down roughly. managing to position himself effectively, noel gets halfway down and begins to suck, hollowing his cheeks as daniel sloppily guides his head.</p><p>“fuck, noel, fuck,” daniel gasps, head thrown back against the seat. “almost forgot how good at this you were,” he’s thrusting up with abandon, noel digs his nails into daniel’s thighs, allowing himself to be used by him.</p><p>noel can only hear moans turning to whines above him. he does his best to suck harder and swallow despite the shallow thrusts.</p><p>daniel says noel’s name, once, twice and until he is coming deep in noel’s throat, his dick pulsing against noel’s tongue as he gasps and comes down from his high.</p><p>noel pulls off with a groan, kissing daniel’s tattoos and stroking his skin as he waits for him to compose himself. “you alright?”</p><p>daniel nods and smiles warmly at him, motioning for him to come up and immediately kissing his lips softly, noel smiles against his mouth before pulling away, sitting in the passenger’s seat and taking a deep breath.</p><p>noel pushes his jeans and underwear up and watches as daniel does the same, the air around them is thick and heavy and he opens the window a bit, sighing when the cold air hits his face.</p><p>they stay in silence for the longest time, and noel is wondering if he did something wrong, but daniel reaches over to hold his hand and smiles, letting him know that he's alright without the words.</p><p>“wanna go back home?” he says, starting the car up and giving him a last squeeze before putting both of his hands on the steering wheel.</p><p>“yeah.” noel smiles at him and watches as he drives. he checks his phone for any texts or calls and sees it's almost four a.m, and the sun will start rising soon.</p><p>daniel parks in noel’s apartment complex and gets off the car, opening the door for noel and holding his hand out for him.</p><p>noel wraps his hands around him and hugs him close. “i love you too, daniel.” he says, and he can feel daniel physically relax into his touch. “i just didn't want it to be a heat of the moment thing. i mean it.”</p><p>daniel kisses his nose and nuzzles his cheek. “yeah, i mean it, too.”</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>three weeks. that’s how long daniel and noel have been together for. it’s been full of discovery and noel affirms his theory that daniel is much like the sun, warm, peaceful and full of light. and daniel’s aware that there are things that noel keeps from him, but he doesn't look at those things as being his ‘secrets’, just undiscovered facts that are bound to be worth the wait.</p><p>noel would describe their time together so far as bright. it brings an amount of light and love to his life that he usually seemed to lack.</p><p>he’s sitting on a cold wire bench, watching as daniel drives circles on a track, practicing for the start of the season in a couple of weeks. he will be lying if he said he wasn't upset daniel was leaving so soon to race, but it is his job, after all. and he promised he would go back home to noel as much as he could in between races.</p><p>noel watches as daniel gets out the car and takes his helmet off, letting his wet sweaty curls drape over his face, unzipping his race suit and exposing the tight black fireproof top that only makes noel want to rip it right off.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>the sun is setting when daniel’s finally done with his training and meets with noel at the entrance, his gaze tired and his body aching for rest.</p><p>“hey there,” noel says, with a big smile as he hugs his boyfriend, who immediately relaxes into his touch. “you look tired.”</p><p>daniel nuzzles into his neck and lets out a deep breath. “i am.” </p><p>noel pouts and holds him tighter, waiting until daniel pulls away to grab his hand and walk him to his car, which is not at all like daniel’s new and sleek renault. noel’s car is old and crappy but daniel still insisted noel drove them to the track and back, and noel agreed, wanting to scream about how much he loves him.</p><p>noel isn't surprised when daniel falls asleep as he drives them to his place, he just lets him rest and turns the music off to disturb him as least as possible.</p><p>“jesus, you’re freezing,” noel says, eyes wide, when he helps daniel out of the car, a hand on his lower back as they walk up the stairs, and daniel would laugh if not for the fact that his body was having enough trouble staying up. </p><p>“i'm fine,” daniel says as he leans against the door, waiting for noel to open it. "just need to sleep."</p><p>the door clicks open and daniel rushes inside, kicking his shoes off and immediately walking to the bedroom, laying with his face on the pillows, not bothering to take his clothes off.</p><p>noel walks behind him and stops in the kitchen for a glass of water, he leaves it on the nightstand next to daniel and opens the closet to look for a blanket.</p><p>“what time is it?” daniel groans behind him, and noel gives him an eye to notice he’s drinking the water he brought, sitting up on the bed.</p><p>“around nine,” noel smiles at him and turns around with a blanket and a hoodie of his for daniel to keep warm, he sits on the bed and helps daniel out of his clothes. “you still cold?” he says, rubbing his arms on daniel's naked shoulders.</p><p>daniel nods and puts the clothes noel got him on, making grabby arms for noel to lay down with him in bed, smiling when he finally gets his way and noel wraps his arms around him.</p><p>“are you hungry?” </p><p>daniel shakes his head and kisses noel’s jaw. “i'm fine."</p><p>“okay.” noel whispers and turns around so they can cuddle closer.</p><p>when his chest first meets his back, they both sigh. noel can feel the curve of daniel’s spine, and he can’t help the sudden warm wave that courses through him. how and when did he fall so hard for daniel? unable to stop himself, he raises his arms, brushing along daniel’s side to pull him closer by the stomach, and he breathes in his ear.</p><p>“thank you, noel.” daniel mutters and closes his eyes, letting himself be held.</p><p>noel doesn't say anything and just finds daniel’s hand in the dark and intertwines their fingers together. with noel’s steady breathing against his back, calm and sure, daniel feels himself falling asleep, any tiredness or muscle pain melting away. the heat against the chilly air of the room feels good, and the weight against his back is reassuring. the bed is warm and smells like noel’s body wash and it all is lulling him into sleep.</p><p>he leans a bit closer, enough so that his nose brushes the nape of daniel's neck, breathing him in, daniel moves a little against him, pushing further into his chest until he’s buried himself there, into the space noel left between his limbs, and he sighs, a small sigh that has noel suddenly yearning with affection and unbearable fondness. </p><p>noel has never really thought of daniel as someone in need of protection. tall and sure, he oozed with self-confidence. even where he was vulnerable, there was a composure that denoted resilience, and for that noel admired him. it's almost impossible, right now, for him to see that person in his arms right now, almost small in his embrace, frame thin and easily enveloped. noel wonders how he ever went to sleep without the presence of daniel beside him.</p><p>at the very least, he is glad daniel isn’t cold anymore.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the sunlight pools into noel’s room when he opens his eyes, warming the air even though they're laying under the covers and their limbs are tangled enough to keep them both warm.</p><p>noel stares at daniel’s sleepy face. his hair is messy against his forehead, he leans down to press a kiss on it; his hands are around his waist and his head rests precariously on his shoulder as he remains in dreamland.</p><p>he stays like that for a while, enjoying the intimacy and how close he is to daniel. he’s happy with daniel. he really is. and he wants to wake up next to him forever.</p><p>the sun annoys his eyes quite a lot after a few minutes, and he decides he has to leave the bed, no matter how peaceful daniel looks. he shifts, trying to prop up his arms so he can wiggle out of his hold, but it only makes daniel wrap his arms tighter around him.</p><p>“dan, you’ve got to at least let me get up if you’re not,” noel mutters and kisses his temple sweetly.</p><p>daniel grumbles in response but continues to pretend to be asleep causing noel to look at him unimpressed and with a smile he can't help. </p><p>“dan,” he groans as he tries to pull his arms off him. “i have shit to do.”</p><p>“baby,” daniel mumbles in response and moves so he can hide his face in the crook of noel’s neck. “come on.”</p><p>noel chuckles as daniel slowly moves his face, so he can look at noel’s. and noel heart fills with love when daniel smiles at him, wide and beautiful.</p><p>“was i annoying last night?”</p><p>noel laughs loudly and shakes his head. “yeah.”</p><p>“jeepers, lie to me next time,” daniel laughs and pushes noel a little with his hand, making him laugh too.</p><p>noel rolls his eyes. “i love you,” he whispers.</p><p>daniel smiles at him again and noel cant help it but lean forward to kiss him. “i love you, too.”</p><p>they kissed in silence, concentrating on each other’s heartbeats and breathing. noel almost forgets about what needed to be done that day, daniel doesn't even think about it in the first place. they ignore their phones that have already been set on silent. they ignore the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric. none of it matters.</p><p>“can i stay while you work?” daniel groans as he pulls away and lean’s his forehead on noel’s.</p><p>“cody’s coming over to film.” noel says, giving daniel’s nose a kiss. “but you- can stay if you want.”</p><p>daniel gives him a small nod. “if he's okay with that.”</p><p>cody is noel’s best friend and basically other half. his name has been thrown around in almost every story he’s told daniel, a constant character in his monologues about his life, and also happens to be the person that made noel go to that bar the night him and daniel met.</p><p>noel gives daniel a warm smile and leans down to kiss him sweetly, pushing away slightly so he can sit on the bed properly to grab his phone. “i'll give him a call.”</p><p>he dials the number and waits patiently for cody to pick up, knowing for sure that cody is gonna be awake.</p><p>“hey, man!”</p><p>daniel can't hear the other side of the conversation when noel gets up at walks around in the room as he speaks to the phone, so he gets out of the covers and searches for his phone as well, scrolling mindlessly through his instagram feed. he does hear noel say something along the lines of “see you in a bit,” and he’s pretty sure the phone call ends well well noel turns to him with a smile.</p><p>“do you want breakfast?” daniel says with a smile as he gets out of bed to look at noel, placing both of his feet on the floor.</p><p>noel licks his lips and raises his eyebrows at him, crouching down so he’s face to face with daniel. “which kind?” he says, with a wink.</p><p>daniel laughs and kisses him shortly. “both.”</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>daniel cooks them both breakfast, telling noel about his special recipes and what he has to eat when he’s preparing for race season, noel listens fondly, making sure to ask the most annoying questions and rolling his eyes at the mention of vegetables. he also lets his eyes slip to daniel’s lips every now and then, too.</p><p>and it's almost no time until cody’s knocking on the door, waking ollie up and receiving a few angry barks in response.</p><p>noel shoots up from his seat, looks at daniel in the eyes and receives a small nod and a warm smile. he walks to the door and opens it, and he's immediately wrapped in a big bear hug from his best friend.</p><p>“hey, man!” cody says when he pulls away, smiling and walking into the apartment. </p><p>“what's up, bro?” noel replies with a smile as they do their handshake. he turns to loom at daniel and he gets up from his seat on the couch. “this is daniel, my-” he takes a deep breath. “...boyfriend.”</p><p>cody opens his eyes wide and and it takes him a second but he ends up smiling, daniel walks forward to give him a fist bump. “you didn't tell me i was coming to meet your boyfriend! hey man! how is it going?” </p><p>cody laughs and gives daniel a bro-hug, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders when daniel laughs with him.</p><p>“are you ready to film?” cody asks as he turns around to start working to noel’s office. “i'll get the camera ready. you guys- do your thing.” he says and laughs to himself as he walks.</p><p>“yeah, i'll be there in a second.” noel says and turns to daniel once cody closes the door behind him. “are you fine to wait until we’re done?”</p><p>daniel nods and kisses noel’s cheek softly. “i'll clean up.” noel smiles and kisses him, for a short time because cody’s calling him to hurry up.</p><p>“put on a movie or something, we won't take long, promise.” he says with a last kiss on daniel’s nose. “i love you.”</p><p>daniel squeezes his shoulder. “i love you."</p><p>noel runs to his office and finds cody fiddling with a light, noel manages to catch it before he drops it to the ground, “careful, man. this shit expensive."</p><p>cody laughs as he sits down and takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair and looking up at noel fixing the camera. “you never told me you were serious.” he says, and noel turns around to look at him with a frown.</p><p>“i didn't think i needed to.” he replies, confused as he turns the computer on.</p><p>cody shakes his head. “you've known him- for what? a month? don’t you think you're going too fast?”</p><p>noel looks at him with open eyes, not believing anything that’s coming out of his mouth. he sits on his chair and sighs as he rolls his eyes. “it's been two months.”</p><p>“whatever,” cody sighs again and types something on noel’s computer. “i'm just saying- aren’t drivers like- known players?”</p><p>“yeah. says the one that dumped me.” noel says and takes a defensive stance, crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>cody sighs and puts his lips together as if he's trying to contain himself, then closes his eyes and shakes his head. “whatever, man,” he says after a few seconds. “i never <em> dumped </em> you.”</p><p>noel clears his throat. “whatever. thing is- he’s not scared of what people are gonna say, not scared of showing me to the world.” he says, looking into cody’s eyes as the other tries to avoid his gaze. “and i like him- a lot, actually.”</p><p>cody sighs and reaches forward to put his hands on noel’s shoulders. “i'm sorry, man.” he says, and gives him a lazy smile. “i just don’t want you to get hurt.”</p><p>noel sighs and throws his head back. “i know, cody.”</p><p>cody rolls over the desk chair so he can hug noel properly, squeezing him tightly letting him know that everything is gonna be alright without the words. noel understands.</p><p>“let's film this fucking video, alright?”</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the video goes smoothly enough and filming it only takes around an hour and a half. noel is glad the tension disappears as soon as their turn the camera on, they're already used to hiding their feelings from the public, anyway.</p><p>noel tries,<em> really tries, </em>to not think about him and cody’s 'relationship’, if you can even call it that, the whole time the camera’s rolling.</p><p>they hooked up on and off for <em> years </em> and noel caught feelings, of course he did. but cody cut it off abruptly with no explanation, leaving noel hopeless and lonely, which lead to him drinking alone in a bar, which lead to him meeting daniel.</p><p>and in a way, he's grateful cody dumped him and went to that bar that night, meeting daniel is probably the best thing that's happened to him in a long time.</p><p>he’s also glad when cody says he needs to dip as soon as the video’s done, but that they can hang out at night for diner, if noel is up for it. noel agrees to meet him later in the day, after daniel leaves for his training.</p><p>daniel smiles when he turns to him with a sigh after the door is closed behind him, then his smile turns into a frown when he sees noel’s face contort in pain.</p><p>he takes a few steps forward and enters noel’s personal space, pressing their bodies together with a softness that makes noel’s heart leap in his chest. </p><p>“what's wrong?” daniel asks, running his hands on noel’s back softly, hugging him tightly.</p><p>noel smiles lazily and rests his cheek on daniel’s chest, trying to contain the tears that fall from his face. “cody can be so exhausting sometimes.” </p><p>daniel nods and hugs him closer and noel wants to laugh at how stupid the situation is, still being friends with your ex and wilingly letting him meet your boyfriend when it's not even been that long. he lets the tears fall silently from his eyes and daniel just holds him close until he stops shaking in his arms.</p><p>“i need to take a shower, i feel gross.” noel says with a whiff, and tries to pull away from daniel’s hold but is just met with daniel pulling him closer and kissing him softly.</p><p>“let me take care of you,” daniel whispers, and feels fondness bloom in his chest when noel nods and looks up to meet his eyes.</p><p>they manage to stumble into the bathroom without breaking their kiss, daniel’s warm hands find their way on noel’s hips. he peels him out of his clothes easily, hands clumsily finding the knob of the shower and turning it on. noel thumbs hook into daniel’s sweatpants and underwear, pulling them down and helping him step out of his clothes.</p><p>“god,” noel loves daniel like this, panting and flustered, his tattoos on his thighs shine beautifully under the bathroom door, “your tattoos.” </p><p>daniel smirks and winks at him, standing naked in front of noel, hopping into the shower and holding his hand out for him. “you like them, yeah?”</p><p>noel nods insistently as he positions himself inside the small space of the shower, letting the hot water hit his body as he examines daniel’s. he leans forward to kiss him, and it's hot and steamy when their tongues meet under the splashing hot water of noel’s crappy shower.</p><p>daniel groans on noel’s mouth when their dicks brush together, noel takes advantage and lets his tongue make his way inside his mouth, massaging the envelope tattooed on the inside of his thighs and brushing his dick slightly.</p><p>daniel pushes noel back softly, managing to kneel in front of him and stroke the tan skin of his thighs, noel whines when daniel presses his nails on the soft flesh of his ass.</p><p>"have i ever told you how good you look like this?" noel asks, a little breathless, and heat coils in daniel’s stomach when he chuckles.</p><p>"once or twice," he replies, leaning forward to lick a stripe down the underside of noel’s dick. the sensation makes his vision go nearly white, his hand coming down to tangle on daniel's wet curls.</p><p>noel feels like the air is knocked out of his lungs, but after a few more kisses to his dick, he finds his voice. "i'll let you know more often, then."</p><p>daniel hums, hand fitting around the base of noel's dick. he leans forward, swirling his tongue around the slit and humming in satisfaction when noel uses the hand on daniel's hair to push him down farther. he slowly lets noel’s dick deeper into his mouth, lips stretched prettily around his length.</p><p>when the head of noel’s dick hits the back of daniel’s throat, his eyes roll back into his head for a moment, and then he hollows out his cheeks, pulls off of noel just enough to swirl his tongue around him before pulling him back into the wet heat of his mouth, and noel can't help it but groan.</p><p>“shit,” noel stutters, nails scratching lightly at daniel's scalp. his hips have a mind of their own, rocking up into daniel's mouth. the sensation makes noel feel like he's on fire, the hot water digging into his skin and making his insides melt.</p><p>daniel braces his hand on noel's hip, holding him in place for a moment. his intentions are clear when the subtle sensation of his teeth dragging against the underside of his dick makes noel see white, his hand collecting daniel's hair into his fist and tugging.</p><p>the steady stream of curses fall out of noel's mouth as daniel works his magic, pulling off noel again only to swirl his tongue around the slit and suck lightly. the combination of so many sensations has noel leaning back into the cold tile of the shower, legs beginning to shake as he teeters dangerously close to release.</p><p>"daniel," noel whispers, in the voice that knows daniel loves. he’s close, his orgasm threatening to rock through his body at any moment. daniel knows this, pulling off him with a smirk and stroking him through release with a skilled hand.</p><p>through the dizzy haze of the orgasm coursing through his body, noel can see the way daniel angles his dick directly at his face. hot white streaks cover daniel’s lips, his cheekbones, his pretty lashes, letting the hot water clean some of it off. as his vision focuses, noel watches in awe as daniel swipes the cum off his face, licking his fingers clean and letting the water fall into his open mouth.</p><p>“come here,” noel urges, voice thick and raspy in the back of his throat. daniel smiles, heavenly, getting up and pressing noel’s back against the cold tile.</p><p>“hi,” daniel says, voice absolutely wrecked. he preens into noel’s touch as he cleans his face, lids heavy like the act of working noel through his release has left him exhausted. perhaps it has, because he lets his body sink into noels chest.</p><p>“you did so good,” noel mutters, kissing the top of daniel’s head. his hand rubs soothing circles into his back. “so good for me.” noel’s voice is soft, warm as he kisses the exposed spot of daniel’s neck. </p><p>the shower washes their release away, eases out the knots in their spines and brings them down from the dizzying excitement. daniel runs his hands down noel’s body, cleaning him of the events of the morning and as if he’s trying to scrub the worry away. noel’s fingers work shampoo through his dark curls. noel melts into daniel’s touch when he strokes his naked back, letting himself be cared for.</p><p>“you're too good to me,” noel mutters, his lips pressed against the shell of daniel’s ear as he turns around and embraces him. daniel chuckles, angling them both under the water for a final rinse off.</p><p>“i should be saying that to you,” he says, lips pressing into the sharp angle of noel's jaw in a kiss that means much more than they have the courage to admit.</p><p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>dinner with cody turns out alright, at least the first half of it. even though noel is obviously very late to it, making cody already annoyed to begin with. he drove daniel to practice and promised to pick him up when he was done, getting distracted by daniel kissing him in his racing suit for a little while.</p><p>cody’s bouncing his leg up and down, resting on noel’s door and looking at his phone mindlessly when noel gets back to his apartment, sprinting to the door and muttering ‘i'm so sorry’ to his friend.</p><p>“i told you to give me my key back,” cody says as he shakes his head when noel lets him in. “could've already ordered food and shit.”</p><p>“i don’t want you coming here unexpectedly, you know.” noel laughs at cody and he throws him a look, rolling his eyes as he takes his jacket and shoes off to sit on the couch. “what are we getting?”</p><p>“chinese? burgers? italian?” noel says as he unlocks his phone and scrolls past the food delivery app. “mexican?” </p><p>everything sounds good in cody’s ears, honestly, but they end up setting on italian food, pasta and bread are always good.</p><p>conversation flows as it always does, they joke around and silence is never uncomfortable, and noel is glad that cody’s laying back and not asking about daniel, or his love life, or bringing their past relationship into it.</p><p>a couple hours later and they're splayed on noel’s couch, sitting on each edge and full, satisfied smiles on their faces as they watch a dumb movie noel recommended on the tv. noel watches from the corner of his eye as cody gets up and moves forward on the couch just enough so his knee brushes against noel’s thigh.</p><p>noel closes his eyes and tries to ignore him, thinking he's probably reading too much into it, listening to the dialogue going on on the television, drifting a little to sleep. but then he feels cody’s hand creep on his knee and he forces his eyes open.</p><p>“what do you think you're doing?” he asks, moving his leg away from cody’s grasp. “what the fuck?”</p><p>“come on,” cody says, biting his lips as he crawls forward on the couch, looking into noel's eyes. “i know you miss me.”</p><p>noel shakes his head and brings his leg forward to press it on cody’s shoulder to stop him from moving up into him. “i have a boyfriend. stop.”</p><p>“whatever,” cody says, moving noel’s knee with his hand and pressing it down so noel’s legs are open. “i bet he doesn’t let you fuck him like i did.”</p><p>cody doesn't dare to move forward, he’s a little shit but would never do anything to noel without consent, he just stays there, on all fours with a hand on noel’s thigh, looking into his eyes though his eyelashes, knowing exactly how noel likes him to be.</p><p>“you don’t know that.” noel replies and shakes his head, scooting backwards into the armrest of the couch until he’s sitting up. “stay off.”</p><p>“oh noel, i can tell.” cody giggles and brushes a hand through his hair. “being a bottom gets you all sensitive and shit. i know you like being on top.”</p><p>“cody, we are not having this conversation.” </p><p>“does he say your name like i did? does he let you call him slut as you fuck relentlessly into him? does he, noel?” cody says, a smile creeping into his face, noel closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, planning his scape from cody’s grasp. “that's what i thought.”</p><p>noel sees the opportunity when cody closes his eyes, so he takes it, immediately getting up and running away from the couch, opening the door to his apartment and pointing at cody then at it.</p><p>“leave.” he says, his voice catching in his throat as he tries not to cry. “cody, now.”</p><p>cody shakes his head and laughs as he gets off the couch and leans forward to put his shoes on. “you're no fun.”</p><p>noel shakes his head and lifts his arms in disbelief. “what the fuck are you even trying to do? you were the one that broke up with me, you were too scared to be with me!" he yells at him, deathly stare in his eyes.</p><p>this is the first time he's ever raised his voice at cody, and it catches them both by surprise. noel immediately realises what he's done and mutters a small 'sorry.'</p><p>cody looks at him, his eyebrows raised in disbelief, then frowns, shaking his head twice as he grabs his jacket and fishes for his car keys. “whatever, man. i'm out.”</p><p>“you're unbelievable.” noel shouts after him as he closes the door, he immediately lets the tears fall down his face when he knows cody can see him, always too scared to cry in front of anyone.</p><p>he sits on the floor and stays there, sobbing into his arm and shaking, trying to stop but the tears just keep falling, making him gasp into the material of his hoodie.</p><p>he feels stupid, knows that cody didn't want to just have dinner with him at his place to 'catch up' it was all part of his stupid little plan to get noel back, or make him frustrated, whatever.</p><p>he feels his phone on his pocket buzz and it interrupts his toughts. he lifts it to his eyes to see an incoming call from daniel. he swallows loudly and picks up wiping the tears from his face and trying to smile.</p><p>"hey,” he says, and he hates himself for sounding like he does.</p><p>“<em>are you okay?” </em>daniel immediately says, and noel nods before realising he can't see him.</p><p>“it's whatever, are you done with practice?” he says, getting up from the floor on wobbly knees and looking around for his shoes.</p><p><em> “i am, see you in a bit?” </em> noel can still hear the worry in his voice and he smiles involuntarily at the love he feels for him. “<em>and it's not whatever.” </em></p><p>“i'll be right there.”</p><p>“<em>alrighty," </em>daniel says and noel can hear his bright smile even through the crappy line. “<em>i love</em> <em>you.” </em></p><p>“i love you."</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>noel parks outside the track and waits for daniel to come out, not sure if he wants to stand up and wait for him, he’s glad he isn’t crying anymore, at least. he had time to compose himself on the way there.</p><p>daniel walks out and looks both ways before walking to noel’s car, he doesn’t look as exhausted as he did the last time, and he smiles wide and bright at noel when he sits down on the passenger seat.</p><p>“hey there.” noel says, giving him a weak smile and leaning forward to kiss him. “how do you feel?”</p><p>"mate," daniel laughs deeply and smiles at him, kissing him again, harder and deeper this time. “i feel fucking amazing.”</p><p>noel moans as daniel goes back in for another kiss, sucking into his bottom lip and biting his mouth. he moves forward to wrap both of his hands on noel’s neck, pulling him closer and groaning into his mouth.</p><p>“dan,” noel whispers, breaking the kiss and looking into his eyes. daniel raises an eyebrow and waits for him to talk. “we should go home."</p><p>daniel nods and pulls off from noel with a chuckle, not before biting his bottom lip and smirking against it. he laughs and buckles his seatbelt, taking his phone out his pocket to snap a picture of the sunset to post on his instagram story as noel starts the car.</p><p>“mate, you should've seen my fast lap,” daniel says with a small laugh and noel shakes his head at him. “no, really. it was insane.”</p><p>noel laughs and reaches out to hold his hand. “i’m sorry i couldn't be there.” he replies, and daniel looks at him fondly, nodding and reaching out to hold his hand.</p><p>“it's okay, baby.” he says with a big smile and placing noel’s hand on his leg, encouraging him to press on it. “how did dinner with cody go? you guys sorted things out?”</p><p>noel coughs to clear his throat and sighs. daniel opens his eyes and bites his lip awkwardly, regretting what he asked.</p><p>“sorry, i didn't-” </p><p>“no, it's okay,” noel says, tightening his grip on daniel’s leg, earning a soft moan from him. “i just don’t wanna think about him right now.”</p><p>daniel raises his eyebrow at him and lowers on the seat so noel’s hand creeps involuntarily  higher, and noel’s pinky finger brushes against his dick just slightly.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>noel’s blood is pumping by the time he finally parks and turns the ignition off in daniel’s apartment complex. not only is he feeling all the energy from all the food he consumed, daniel has also been sucking his fingers into his mouth for twenty minutes while he was driving, making him want to pull over and devour him.</p><p>“baby,” daniel says after he unlocks the door and rushes noel inside, grabbing him by the folds of his jean jacket and pulling him close. “my adrenaline is going crazy.” he says, and opens his eyes to make his point clear.</p><p>noel chuckles against his mouth. “i can tell.”</p><p>daniel shakes his head and leans forward to kiss him, pressing him on the wall behind him, breathing into his mouth when their clothed dicks brush together.</p><p>“daniel,” noel whispers and brings his hand up to tangle in daniel’s hair, making him groan. “can i fuck you?”</p><p>daniel nods against the skin of his neck, biting slightly on it with a smug grin. “thought you'd never ask.”</p><p>noel has daniel naked and sprawled beneath him on his king size bed in no time, and he can see each and every tattoo on his body, contrasting perfectly with his tan skin. he promised himself he’d kiss them all one day, but tonight– tonight is not the night.</p><p>he doesn't have time for that when he is running his hands on them and daniel is arching up into his touch like his life depends on it.</p><p>“noel, please,” daniel breathes out. sweat gathering on his chest and forehead, skin flushing with every pass of noel’s mouth and fingers.</p><p>“are you sure you want this?” noel asks, eyes looking up to him while his tongue dances over the kissing couple inked on his thigh. “you can always fuck me instead.”</p><p>“god, yes,” daniel hisses and bucks his hips as he feels a smooth cold, lubed up digit circling his entrance. he groans and presses down against it. “been wanting it for so long.”</p><p>noel’s eyes widen as his mouth leaves wet marks down daniel’s dick. “yeah? could've told me about it,” he says, slipping another finger inside and curling them.</p><p>“i thought-” daniel’s breath catches in his throat and he groans loudly, “you didn't want it,” he almost sobs.</p><p>“oh, danny.” noel says, taking the tip of daniel’s dick in his mouth, sucking lightly and thrusting his fingers just enough to tease his prostate.</p><p>slowly retracting his fingers, noel crawls up to hover over daniel, looking into his dilated pupils. he leans down and presses a biting kiss to his mouth, teeth sinking into his lips.</p><p>“tell me if you want me to stop,” noel says, and it wasn’t a question. </p><p>daniel nods quickly. he raises a hand up and strokes his thumbs on noel’s stubble, tracing his jawline. “yes, yes. just- come on.”</p><p>noel nudges daniel’s legs apart with his, pulling one leg up over his own thigh. he slowly starts to press in, making daniel’s eyes open wide to then close shut, throwing his head back into the pillow. </p><p>then, daniel moans, and it is so different that any of what noel’s heard from him. it's louder and more high pitched, and noel wants it to be integrated into his brain forever.</p><p>pressing further in, noel sinks his fingertips into daniel’s skin, grasping and groping the tender flesh. inch by inch, he watches daniel’s face contort in a mixture of pain and pleasure, from nervous to uncomfortable, to absolutely full of need when he is finally completely inside, hips circling trying to get him to relax.</p><p>“you feel good?” he whispers, hands roaming daniel’s chest, lightly tugging on his left nipple. “feel full?”</p><p>“god. noel- feels amazing,” daniel whines and claws on noel’s back, pressing him down into him. “you can move.”</p><p>noel nods and begins in slow, easy thrusts. he wants daniel to get used to the feeling, not him to feel overwhelmed by it. he lowers himself to kiss every inch of skin on him that he could reach. biting, sucking, scraping at it while he fucks into him.</p><p>“you feel so good.” noel purrs in daniel’s ear, giving it a bite while he was at it. “should let me do this more often.”</p><p>daniel shivers and moans, pressing both of his hands on noel’s ass and grabbing, making him go deeper. “harder.”</p><p>noel grips daniel’s arm tight, right where an angel's tattooed, and jerks his hips forward. daniel cries out and trapps noel with his legs. “more,” he demands in between moans.</p><p>pulling back until the tip is barely inside, noel slamms back in. over and over and over. their sweat mixing, their breaths combining, both hearts racing and pumping adrenaline like crazy. noel can feel daniel clenching around him, his dick impossibly hard between them.</p><p>“want you to-” daniel pants, opening his eyes and locking them with noel’s batting his eyelashes at him. “cum inside me.”</p><p>“you - can’t just look at me like that and say that,” noel says and lets out a low groan, reaching down between them, pumping daniel in time with his thrusts. “fucking hell.”</p><p>daniel gasps and arches his back, fucking himself into the warmth of noel’s fist. “fuck me, fuck me, fuck me,” he chants through gritted teeth until noel feels the wet, hot release of his cum on his hand.</p><p>with one last hard snap of his hips, noel moans loudly into daniel’s shoulder, cuming inside the man below him, his whole body shaking and twitching.</p><p>they lay there silently on top of each other for a moment, catching their breaths. noel pulls out after a short while, making daniel complain and wince in pain.</p><p>“sorry,” noel mutters and kisses his nose. “was that good?” he asks, propping himself up on his elbow and running his hands over the words tattooed on daniel’s arm.</p><p>daniel smiles widely at him and presses the side of his face into the pillow, pulling himself closer to noel.</p><p>“mhm.” he says, reaching over to hug noel closer to his chest, kissing his forehead. “we still need to talk about-”</p><p>“tomorrow.” noel interrupts him, “please, let's have tonight.”</p><p>daniel nods and kisses the top of noel’s head, mumbling something that noel doesn't understand but figures might be an “i love you.” noel smiles against his chest and kisses his collarbone, feeling himself drift into sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>noel wakes up earlier than what he wanted to in the morning, and it's a minute before he realises he's in daniel’s bed, not in his, the musky scent of pine that is all over his apartment getting to his nostrils fast enough.</p><p>it's another few seconds before he becomes aware of daniel’s presence next to him. he rolls over to look at his boyfriend, who somehow isn't cuddling him anymore, trying not to make a noise.</p><p>daniel is lying on his back, one arm lifted over his head, showing the black curls in his armpit. the blanket is pushed down around his waist, and the white of the cotton, almost blue in the morning light filtering through the blinds, makes his tan skin stand out even more.</p><p>noel is content to simply lie and watch him. he's never thought of himself as a romantic, the kind of guy who'd do sappy stuff like watching his lover sleep, but he doesn't care, daniel looks beautiful. sleep has smoothed the lines of his face and he looks younger, peaceful, his chest rising and falling deeply. </p><p>noel can't resist, reaches out and trails the very tips of his fingers down the curve of his throat, smoothing the stubble. daniel stirs lightly, swallowing, bringing one hand up to cover noel’s and tangling their fingers together. his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks as he struggles to wake. </p><p>“morning,” noel says softly, clearing his throat when it comes out hoarse. daniel smiles, licking over his dry lips and rolling on to his side, finally opening his eyes and looking at noel. </p><p>“hey,” he mumbles, blinking sleepily at noel, nuzzling the hand now trapped beneath his cheek. noel leans in to kiss him, delighting in the warm sleepiness radiating from daniel’s body. daniel licks into his mouth, sighing into the kiss. “you have morning breath,” he says when they break apart.</p><p> “so do you,” noel says, not caring, with a small laugh.“let's shower,” noel says and winks at him.</p><p>“you dirty bastard,” daniel laughs and leans down to kiss him again, making sure to bite into his mouth teasingly. noel can’t help it but laugh into his mouth, happiness flooding him.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>they take a long, hot shower together, enjoying their last full day with each other until daniel comes back from the first part of the season. noel realises, mid shampooing, that he hasn't thought about daniel leaving yet, it hasn't been a part of his thoughts and he definitely is not ready for it.</p><p>“i will be back before you know it,” daniel starts, patting his hair dry with a towel, standing in front of noel, who's looking for a t-shirt in the closet, in just a pair of grey sweatpants. “and it's not like i won't call you every day,” he smiles and winks at him.</p><p>noel shakes his head and reaches over to grab one of daniel’s shirts, it has a faded red bull racing logo on it and it's not the first time noel considers stealing it from him.</p><p>“i know that,” noel sighs. “but it's gonna feel weird.”</p><p>daniel throws the towel away in the hamper and closes the space between them, wrapping his hands on noel’s back. “you can always come to monaco the week i'm there.” he says, and raises his eyebrow at noel.</p><p>“monaco! me?” he says and tries to laugh, hiding his anxiety from daniel. “i don’t think i-”</p><p>daniel frowns. “why not?”</p><p>noel sighs and shakes his head. “isn't monaco where all the drivers, like- take their hot model girlfriends out and- stuff.” he lets it out and it comes out so fast he barely has time to process it.</p><p>daniel opens his eyes in surprise and blinks twice before replying back. “is that what you think you are to me? a hot boyfriend i will carry around on my arm like a trophy?”</p><p>“no, but-” noel looks down to their feet and bites his lip. “i'm just scared of what people will say.”</p><p>daniel hugs him then, kissing the top of his head and shaking his own, “i don’t care what they say, i thought i made that clear the first morning we spent together.”</p><p>noel smiles as memories from that morning floor his mind and he nods against daniel’s chest, closing his eyes and letting himself be embraced.</p><p>“i'll come to monaco.” he says after a few minutes, and daniel pulls away to look at him, a raised eyebrow and a big smile.</p><p>“bring a bathing suit, then.” daniel jokes, trying to push his buttons.</p><p>noel shakes his head and leans forward to kiss him. it's a soft kiss, neither of them have enough energy for morning sex, but it's nice, and daniel lets noel guide him.</p><p>“can we eat?” daniel says when they pull away from air, a big smile lighting his face. “i'm starving!”</p><p>noel smiles fondly at him and takes a deep breath, unable to contain his smile. he nods, and daniel grabs his hand and walks him to the kitchen with a big smile, thinking about all that he's gonna miss when he's gone.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"so,” noel starts, taking a piece of bacon into his mouth. “about cody…”</p><p>daniel looks at him, taking a bite of his vegetable breakfast burrito and laying back on his chair, he doesn’t say anything though, letting noel collect his thoughts to talk.</p><p>“he tried to get inside my head and shit," he says, taking another bite and taking a second to chew, feeling daniel’s fond gaze on him. “i kicked him out.”</p><p>daniel raises his eyebrows at that, reaching forward with his leg to touch noel’s softly, just to let him know he was there. “were you crying when you called?”</p><p>“yeah. he-” he takes a deep breath and lowers his head, avoiding daniel’s gaze. “i don’t even know, what was going through his head."</p><p>daniel clenches his jaw and swallows loudly. “this is the second time he makes you cry.”</p><p>“it's fine-”</p><p>“no it's not.” daniel whispers it, and when noel looks up ar him, his eyes are darkened and he looks upset, it's like he has race mode on. “you do know i love you, right?” </p><p>he says it and noel doesn't even think he’s really asking it, it's like he says it to himself, or at cody, or at the universe. noel’s not sure. noel doesn't say anything, just lets daniel have his moment as he watches him, eyes fixated and fascinated on his face.</p><p>“he better not do anything while i'm gone.” he says after a few seconds, starting to relax his face and eyes and finally taking a bite of his food. “i'll end him.”</p><p>noel shakes his head and sighs, knowing that daniel is finally relaxed and joking around with him. daniel smiles and reaches over to hold noel’s hand in his. noel takes a deep breath and smiles back at him, tracing the rose tattooed on his skin softly, closing his eyes. trying to forget about cody, trying to forget about daniel leaving, just trying to focus on his warm skin and feel.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>it really is no time at all until daniel is gone, off to the first part of the season in asia and australia. and noel doesn't think he’s ever been this lonely.</p><p>he doesn't even talk to cody anymore to keep him entertained, at least two hours a week when they filmed the podcast. and he kind of misses him, even though he hasn't forgotten about what he did to him. he even thinks about texting him, but always deletes the message when he's about to.</p><p>they announce their break on social media, paying it off as time to focus on other things, new projects. never as a break up or an end of the friendship, because it isn't. right? noel likes to think it isn't the end of their friendship, and he hopes cody thinks so too. they just need time away from each other for a while.</p><p>the only thing that kept noel grounded for the times he wasn't on the phone with daniel, or watching the races, was streaming. it really had become the only thing that he looked forward to, and he was streaming almost every day and for hours and hours on end. until his brain felt like mush and his body gave up on him.</p><p>“<em>favourite driver in the 2020 grid? love you :)”</em></p><p>a donation for $5 reads while he’s playing the formula one 2019 game, trying to sound like he knows anything about the mechanics of the sport but basically just making fun of the drivers and himself. he opens his eyes jokingly and lets text to speech finish before he pauses the game and grabs his microphone to speak.</p><p>“actually,” he starts to say, not really sure where he wants to go with it. “daniel might be my favourite. listen-”</p><p>the chat immediately fills with laughter and people asking him why. he chuckles and shifts a little in his chair, getting closer to the camera. </p><p>“you're all some horny motherfuckers today,” he says, trying to hold his chuckle back, doing the most to no look flustered in camera. “he’s just a really good driver.”</p><p>chat fills with the sugar rainbow emote and he laughs, shaking his head at how much he is hiding from chat about daniel. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>he ends up playing and talking with chat for two more hours, getting off at 9 p.m and realising he’s been streaming for almost 4 hours straight with only one little sneak break. he throws his headset on his desk, cracks his neck and rolls his back, considering if he should shower and eat or just go straight to bed.</p><p>his phone buzzes in his leg, and he smiles when he sees a text from daniel, who’s in the united arab emirates for the week, having just woken up and getting ready for race day.</p><p><strong>daniel</strong>: u up? ;)</p><p>noel rolls his eyes and spins a little on his chair, feeling like a teenager talking to his crush for the first time.</p><p><strong>noel</strong>: just done with stream for the day </p><p>daniel takes a little to reply and noel wonders if he’s getting ready to race or if he’s in press, or in the cockpit, or inside the car, who knows? there's so many things from the paddock he doesn't know about.</p><p><strong>daniel</strong>: just got off the shower</p><p><strong>daniel</strong>: can i call you? :)</p><p>he smiles as he types a quick ‘yes’ and waits patiently for daniel to call him. he wonders if he should let the phone right for a few seconds to pretend he isn't desperate to hear daniel’s voice, but he cant help it and picks up as soon as it goes off.</p><p>“good morning.” noel says, and he can hear daniel’s smile from the other end, he bites his bottom lip and tries to imagine daniel in front of him.</p><p>“<em>g’day</em>.” daniel answers, not missing a beat, and noel wants to cry about how much he misses him. “<em>how was work?”</em></p><p>“don’t even- how was <em>your</em> work?” they didn't get to speak before daniel went to bed after qualifying, and noel still hated himself for sleeping through it. “yours is a little bit more interesting.”</p><p>“<em>qualy went well,</em>” daniel is still smiling, and noel can hear rustling from his side as he gets dressed up. “<em>i'm sixth, right after albono. full send, yeah?”</em></p><p>“yeah, full send,” noel smiles, widely, because he’s so in love he can't help it. “saw your selfie. i'm proud.”</p><p>daniel chuckles at him, noel can hear the thud of him laying down in bed, then he hears him giggle again. “<em>wish we could have some celebratory kisses.”</em></p><p>“shut up,” noel shakes his head and bittes his bottom lip, looking down at his feet. “i already miss you enough.”</p><p>daniel laughs, a proper laugh this time, and noel already rolls his eyes at what he's gonna say, “<em>can’t wait to make sweet sweet love to you in monaco.”</em></p><p>noel blushes and he hates himself for having this kind of reaction to daniel saying dumb stuff like <em>sweet sweet love.</em> daniel’s still laughing loudly in his ear. “man, don’t say it like that.”</p><p>“<em>what? sweet sweet love?</em>” noel wants nothing more than to be with daniel, he misses his smile and laugh the most. he really doesn't know how much longer he can go without it. "<em>what do you want me to call it?"</em></p><p>"stop it." daniel stops laughing after a few seconds, and noel is bitting the inside of his mouth so hard he’s sure he’s gonna start bleeding if he doesn't stop. “just a month until monaco.”</p><p>“<em>remember to bring your bathing suit.”</em> daniel says with another chuckle.</p><p>“yes, danny. the bathing suit.”</p><p>daniel goes quiet and noel knows he’s raising his eyebrows at him, coming up with a phrase as flirty as his, the battle for who’s the most annoying one always on. </p><p>“<em>wouldn’t want you naked in the hot tub,”</em> he says after a bit, and noel’s blood rushes to his face so fast he has to hide in his hands. he hears daniel explode in laughter again, knowing he won. this time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“a small little wee break, exactly,” he laughs, reading a chat message out loud. “y'all won't even notice i'm gone.”</p><p>he’s just announced he’s taking a week and a half off, while he visits daniel in monaco. he didn't exactly say <em> why </em> or <em> where he is going, </em>at least not exactly. he said he's going on vacation to see a friend. which wasn't a lie.</p><p>and even though he knows he will mostly get papped and seen with daniel in monaco, he will deal with that when it's over and he's back home.</p><p>he presses the outro song button on his stream labs, raises his eyebrows to the camera, like saying ‘you know what's coming’. he laughs while he tucks chat goodnight, knowing he’s going to miss it while he’s gone.</p><p>he stretches his arms over his head after he clicks on the end stream button, taking a long deep breath and hearing his neck crack when he circles his head a little. god he is really tired. he never realises how exhausting streaming is until he’s done and the excitement of entertaining wears down.</p><p>he stays on his desk for a little bit, sending a few discord messages to his twitch mods and editors, who are hyping him up for going to see daniel and telling him to enjoy his time. he smiles and blushes a little.</p><p>he bites his lip as he hovers his pointer over cody’s username on discord. he had been active the whole time he was streaming and he’s pretty sure he was watching, not the first time he does anyway. </p><p>he takes another deep breath as he closes from the discord app, shaking his head and not letting cody’s words get back inside it again.</p><p>he stretches one more last time and gets up, catching a look at the time and rolling his eyes at how he went over time, again. he opens his phone and finds a goodnight text from daniel (who’s already in europe), accompanied by a photo of his sleepy face cuddling a pillow in bed. he pouts and immediately smiles to his screen like an idiot.</p><p><b>noel</b>: goodnight danny</p><p><b>noel</b>: see you soon</p><p><b>noel</b>: miss you</p><p><b>noel</b>: stop sleeping &gt;:(</p><p>he shakes his head and locks his phone when he gets to his bedroom, sighing and blowing air when he’s met with the mess. clothes everywhere and his suitcase open on the middle of his bed. he turns around in his feet and decides to ignore until he’s done with his dinner.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>when he goes back to his room after dinner and a shower, he hates himself for the choice he made. he wants to just get in bed and sleep, sleep until his alarm goes off at 5 a.m and know he’s gonna be with daniel in less than 15 hours.</p><p>he groans as he throws stuff on his suitcase, tshirts, hoodies, jeans, a jacket, his toiletries, underwear (almost forgot it), sweatpants… he looks to his left and sees them, his swim trunks. </p><p><em>"wouldn't want you naked in the hot tub." </em>daniel’s words rush through his head and he rolls his eyes and shakes his head, throwing them inside the suitcase with a chuckle and lifting it to then drop it onto the floor.</p><p>her gets in bed after what feels like forever and snuggles to his pillow, groaning because it doesn't even smell like daniel’s cologne anymore.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>he’s having such a good dream when the loud sound of his alarm wakes him up. early, way too early for his liking. it takes him a minute to know why he’s up so early for.  his eyes snap open when he remembers, and he’s out of bed and off to the shower in no time.</p><p>he rubs his eyes and flinches at the sound of the coffee machine going off. his head’s banging and he prays he's not getting a migraine from the stress. his phone rings and he wants to throw it onto the wall until he realises who it is.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: good morning sleeping beauty </p><p><b>daniel</b>: i'm off to a meeting</p><p><b>daniel</b>: smell ya later ;)</p><p>noel once again finds himself giggling and blushing at daniel’s text messages, pouring himself a cup of coffee and still trying to come up with a cheeky good morning text to get him back.</p><p><b>noel</b>: got my swim trunks </p><p><b>noel</b>: good morning &lt;33</p><p>he finishes his coffee and goes back to his room, checking the time every five seconds while he gets dressed. his uber texts him he’s outside and he still has to put his shoes in.</p><p>he curses under his breath as he skips to the door, giving his apparment a last look goodbye with a smile.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: which color ;)</p><p>he rolls his eyes, sitting on the backseat of the uber, biting the skin around his thumb as he types.</p><p><b>noel</b>: arent u in a meeting</p><p><b>noel</b>: unprofessional daniel</p><p>the typing bubbles come up so fast noel almost wants to laugh, he hides his phone like he’s in class, bringing it close to his face.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: what are you gonna do about it</p><p><b>daniel</b>: ;)</p><p>noel’s so annoyed about the fact that daniel’s stupid winky faces are affecting him the way they are.</p><p><b>noel</b>: omg stop it</p><p>when daniel doesn't reply after five minutes, he assumes he’s back in and focused on his meeting. he locks his phone and closes his eyes, letting himself be driven as the early morning sun hits his closed eyelids.</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the shaking of the plane as it passes a storm in the middle of the ocean wakes him up, making his head throb in a ringing migraine. he tries to stretch involuntarily but hits his knee on the front seat. great.</p><p>he takes a deep breath and thinks about when daniel told him to get his private jet, that he'll pay for it. he laughs as he looks at the person sitting next to him, who's in a deep sleep and noel wishes he could do the same thing.</p><p>he taps around on the screen in front of him to check how long he has until landing and sees that he has two hours and a half, meaning he’ll be with daniel in less than five. he also checks the time on the screen and sees that’s almost 10 a.m. his brain hurts, trying to calculate how he’s been sleep for eleven hours and it's only 10.</p><p>he takes his phone out of his pocket and turns the wifi on, letting the notifications come through and only reading over them, resting his head on the losed window.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: ya on the air yet? &lt;3</p><p>a text from daniel reads from 30 minutes earlier, and he quickly types an answer, hoping he isn't busy to talk to him.</p><p><b>noel</b>: yes sorry fell asleep :/</p><p><b>noel</b> 2:30 more hours</p><p>he bites the inside of his cheek waiting for daniel to answer, the typing bubbles pop up after a minute, then disappear again after a few seconds. he frowns.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: what are u wearing</p><p><b>daniel</b>: im bored</p><p>he rolls his eyes and scratches the back of his head as he gives one last glance to the guy sleeping next to him.</p><p><b>noel</b>: there's someone next to me</p><p>he types fast, excitement ringing through his ears, already, from just a few texts.</p><p><b>daniel</b> are they looking</p><p>he shakes his head as if daniel could see him, leans forward on his seat to rest his back, and types.</p><p><b>noel</b>: no they're asleep</p><p>daniel takes another few minutes to reply and noel wonders if he’s in public or in his apartment, if he’s thinking about him or just messing around</p><p><b>daniel:</b> tell me what you're wearingggg</p><p>noel shakes his head and looks down at himself.</p><p><b>noel:</b> shorts and a hoodie</p><p><b>noel:</b> wbu?</p><p>daniel’s message is a picture, noel opens it and it's him, shirtless in the mirror, giving him a wink. he feels his face heat up and he hides it on the neck of his hoodie, looking around before typing again.</p><p><b>noel</b>: u cant do this while im 6 miles in the air with no privacy</p><p>daniel, once again, takes a few minutes to reply and noel is now convinced he’s doing it on purpose to drive him crazy.</p><p><b>daniel:</b> god i can't wait to see you</p><p><b>daniel:</b> i’m sending a private car </p><p><b>daniel</b>: you'll pay me back later  ;)</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>noel sees the black car daniel rented parking right in front of him. his luggage is heavy in his arms and his handbag is falling down his arms by the time he gets outside the airport. taking in the european air and the hot monaco sun on his face.</p><p>he didn't expect monaco to be the way it is. he half-expected men in suits and women in expensive dresses and heels. but he's met with tourists in flip flops and a lot of american accents. he doesn't feel so out of place, for now at least.</p><p>he gets inside and immediately throws his head back on the head rest, closing his eyes and feeling like he’s finally comfortable after what feels like a whole twenty four hours.</p><p>the car ride to daniel’s apartment isn't long, and he’s way too distracted with looking at the sea and the mediterranean streets that he doesn't even notice for how long they drive for.</p><p>the driver gives him one last nod when he hands him his luggage, and noel waits until he sees him drive away to turn around and face the large building in front of him.</p><p>he doubts if he should text daniel to tell him he made it or just walk up to his apartment and knock on the door to catch him by surprise. he smiles to himself as he begins walking to the entrance.</p><p>the guy at the administration doesn't even take a glance at him as he gets in, and he shrugs as he walks to the elevator, pressing the third floor button.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: where uu</p><p>he smiles as he kicks his bags inside the elevator with his feet.</p><p><b>noel</b>: guess :)</p><p>daniel reads it in no time, and noel can imagine him waiting by the door like a little kid.</p><p><b>daniel: </b>:o</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>daniel hears the knocks on his door and he’s up from the couch in no time, straightening his clothes out of habit and opening the door with a deep breath.</p><p>noel immediately threw himself on daniel’s arms, wrapping his arms on his neck and kissing everywhere he can reach. it’s been a long time, way too long, since he felt daniel’s warm body on his.</p><p>daniel laughs loudly and wraps his arms around noel’s waist, taking advantage of their height difference and lifting him up the floor, kissing his forehead. </p><p>they both laugh as daniel puts him down and pulls away so they can look at each other.</p><p>“welcome,” daniel says, and noel smiles at him again, reaching over to get his bags inside and close the door behind him.</p><p>his eyes quickly scan daniel’s apartment. it's open, spacious and clean, the views to the city and the sea are beautiful and he is jealous for a second before he remembers how crazy and dangerous daniel’s lifestyle is. </p><p>“wow,” he says, under his breath as he takes a few more steps inside the living room. </p><p>“you like the view?” daniel says, hugging noel from behind and kissing his shoulder sweetly, resting his chin on it. “i missed you.”</p><p>noel nods and turns around to kiss daniel’s lips. he tastes like toothpaste and coffee, and he's so happy he smiles into it, earning a soft giggle from him. </p><p>“i missed you so much,” noel says, kissing daniel’s chin. “next year i'm coming with you.”</p><p>daniel laughs because he doesn't mean it, but he still likes to believe a part of him wants to do it. drop all of your responsibilities to follow your boyfriend around the world sounds really nice to him. </p><p>“i have a surprise for you,” daniel says, taking noel’s hands and leading him to the couch, letting him sit on his lap. “we got invited to dinner.” noel raises his eyebrows. “and- everyone’s coming.” </p><p>noel’s eyes snap open. “by everyone you mean-”</p><p>daniel smiles and nods. “everyone.”</p><p>noel opens his mouth and shakes his head twice in disbelief, then throws himself over daniel again, kissing his face and biting into his mouth. </p><p>“mhm,” daniel mumbles into the kiss, wrapping his arms around noel and moving him closer so he’s straddling him. “oh, hey there.”</p><p>noel presses his thighs on each side of daniel’s and groans. “why is your shirt back on?” he says, running his hands down daniel’s back and gripping at his shoulders.</p><p>daniel laughs and kisses his nose. “take it off then.”</p><p>noel shakes his head and presses his lips against daniel’s neck, hot breath on his skin, and daniel releases a surprised but contented sigh. his free hand traced up noel’s waist, over his shoulder blades, and then up to press down on his bicep. all while noel’s mouth works at his pulse point, leaving wet trails underneath his jaw.</p><p>“not yet,” noel whispers, pressing kisses across his cheek until their lips meet once again. this time, daniel doesn't hesitate to run his tongue along noel’s lower lip and noel opens his mouth enough for him to enter. daniel lets go of his arm and curls it around his back to pull him closer. their crotches grind together and noel’s eyes fly open and his hand clutches at daniel’s hair.</p><p>“ah- shit” he moans, and his hips move responsively. daniel’s hand loosens slightly from his back and his face pulls back to look at the blush running up noel’s neck to his ears and cheeks.</p><p>“you're gorgeous,” noel whispers, catching his breath and kissing the edge of his mouth, “so handsome,” another kiss to the other side of his mouth.</p><p>“noel,” daniel breathes, watching noel lick his lips slowly, his tongue dragging along his mouth. noel leans in again, then, caressing daniel’s tongue with his own. the hand behind his back circles around to the front of his jean shorts and daniel’s middle finger runs over the metal zipper.</p><p>“this okay?” daniel asks into noel’s mouth. he nods quickly and groans as his finger dances over his happy trail.</p><p>“hell yeah.”</p><p>daniel grins deviously and presses his mouth to noel’s jaw, then mouths his way down his chest. he gets the strength to get up and push noel down on his back carefully, so he's hovering over him on the couch.</p><p>daniel pulls the hem of his hoodie up and licks a circle around his belly button , running his tongue down to his hips. he moves noel’s legs to either side of his waist and runs his hands up his thighs. noel looks down at him between his legs and can't help the broken sound that escapes his throat.</p><p>it feels like forever since he had daniel’s mouth on him, and until that moment he hadn’t realized how much he wants it. how much he needs it.</p><p>“-these off,” daniel’s voice pulls him back and noel blinks down at him. his mind finally catches up and he lifts his hips so daniel can pull his shorts and underwear off and down his legs, leaving his dick to press against his stomach, exposed to cold air. daniel presses a kiss to his knee and smiles against his skin, “still okay?”</p><p>“yeah- fuck. been too long.” daniel’s eyes gleam and he folds one of noel’s legs over his shoulder. he rubs his thumb into noel’s hip as he kisses his way down his inner thigh, pausing above his dick.</p><p>“way too long.” daniel’s breath reaches the tip of his dick and something electric shoots up noel’s spine. daniel gently runs his tongue from the tip down and then back up and noel spasms at the sensation.</p><p>“dan,” noel grips the arm of the sofa near his head and arches his back involuntarily, “not gonna last long.”</p><p>daniel grins against his dick and mouths at the tip, swiping his tongue sweetly over the pool of wetness. he takes half of noel into his mouth and slides his tongue underneath the shaft. noel bucks his hips and then he’s coming, his hand grasping at daniel’s hair.</p><p>“shit- sorry.” </p><p>daniel, surprised at the suddenness, chokes a little and  forces noel’s dick further into his mouth, trying to swallow as much as he can. his eyes water a bit as he pulls back, and noel shakes under him.</p><p>noel slaps the hand not in daniel’s hair over his eyes, mortified. daniel barely just got started and he didn't even last a full minute. daniel wipes off his chin and mouth, leaning up to whisper in noel’s ear.</p><p>“you look so hot,” he whispers. noel groans and uncovers his eyes, wrapping both of his hands on daniel’s neck and leaning up to kiss him.</p><p>daniel tastes and smells like him, like his body wash and like sex, and noel cant help it but moan into the kiss. </p><p>“god i missed you so much.” he whispers, and daniel laughs, pulling away and sitting on noel’s legs. </p><p>noel frowns but looks into his eyes, daniel smiles at him, a wide and bright grin, and noel feels his heart leap in his chest.</p><p>“are you ready for a personal, very special tour of the city?” daniel says after a good two minutes of just staring at noel, winking at him.</p><p>noel just laughs and pulls him down by the hem of his shirt for another kiss, not wanting to let go of him for longer than a few minutes ever again.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“relax, you're going to be just fine,” daniel said to noel, who had been walking in circles around daniel’s bedroom for the last half an hour, the palms of his hands sweating.</p><p>they had such a nice day in the city, they ate pizza and walked holding hands everywhere. he was pretty sure they got papped at least twice but daniel didn't seem to care or pull away from him, and so noel let him. </p><p>he will have so, so much to deal with when he got back home, so many explanations to give to his fans. but for now, he let himself live in the fantasy of being <em> just </em> daniel’s boyfriend for the week.</p><p>daniel had not even showered yet, and he had been sitting around for way too long, in noel’s opinion. he felt sweaty and like his heart was gonna fall out his ass any second. they locked eyes and daniel gestured to him to lay in bed with him, opening his arms.</p><p>noel took a deep breath as he cuddled to daniel’s chest, smiling against the fabric of his sweater. “i'm so nervous.”</p><p>daniel laughed loudly. “i can tell.” he stroked his hands on noel’s bare arms, making his skin tingle. “have you checked social media yet?”</p><p>noel buried his face on the crook of daniel’s neck and shook his head. “have you?”</p><p>he shook his head too, tangling noel’s feet with his and pulling him closer. “will do it later, wanna post a picture with you.”</p><p>noel raised his head to look at him. “you do?” he said, and positioned himself so he could sit properly to look at daniel.</p><p>“of course, when we're all dressed up and fancy,” he laughed, leaning forward to kiss him, biting his lip for good measure before pulling away, winking at him.</p><p>“you're insufferable, you know it right?” noel laughed, rolling his eyes and pretending to be annoyed at him. daniel laughed too, making noels stomach flutter uncontrollably.</p><p>“yeah, i reckon.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>daniel’s agent smiled when he took pictures of them, <em> dressed up and fancy, </em>and noel couldn't help it but smile widely when he handed the phone over so they could check them to post.</p><p>“inside in five minutes,” he said, and gave daniel’s shoulder a squeeze before he disappeared inside the building.</p><p>daniel gave him a click of the tongue and looked around over noel’s shoulder, who was still on his phone trying to come up with a caption. “you posting now?”</p><p>noel lifted his eyes and looked at him, giving a nod, he typed something then tapped a few more times, before locking his phone, putting it in his back pocket and wrapping his arms around daniel’s neck.</p><p>daniel hummed appreciatively and kissed his cheek shortly. “we have to be professional, unfortunately.” noel pouted but nodded, winking at him and pulling his hands away from him. “oh hey!” he said, looking over noel’s shoulder and waving to someone behind him. “max!”</p><p>noel’s eyes widened and he immediately felt his palms start to sweat again at the name, daniel grabbed his hand and smiled at him, making space so max could stand in front of them.</p><p>“hello mate!” max said, and noel looked up to meet his face, pale skin and blue eyes, his blonde hair sat nicely on top of his head and he looked nicer than what noel had imagined him to look like up close.</p><p>max and daniel shook hands, and then max reached over to shake noel’s, giving him a small nod. “this is noel? nice to meet you.” he said, and noel smiled at him, relaxing immediately when he realised that max already knew of him. “heard a lot about you.”</p><p>noel opened his eyes and smiled at max, “all good, i hope.” he joked, and max nodded and looked at daniel again, smiling at him.</p><p>“should we go in?” daniel said, offering his arm to noel to hold and taking a step forward, letting max walk in front of them. noel nodded, pressing his hand on daniel’s forearm. </p><p>daniel walked them inside, on the way noel saw the williams boys and lance stroll, and even though they didn't stop to say anything, he still felt like passing out.</p><p>daniel’s seat was next to esteban’s on the table, and noel was on his left, next to daniel’s agent. he sat down with a smile, getting one back from everyone.</p><p> </p><hr/><p><br/>“someone wants to meet you,” daniel whispered on noel’s ear, right after desert. noel looked at him and raised his eyebrows. </p><p>daniel got up and offered his hand to noel, noel took it and apologised to esteban, whom he was having a conversation with. he let daniel walk him to the mclaren table, and he immediately knew what was coming.</p><p>“he said you guys played together before,” daniel said on noel’s ear, giving him a little push as he made eye contact with lando, who was getting up from his chair.</p><p>“hello noel!” lando said, messing up his name on purpose and laughing, reaching over to hug him. “you guys kept this a big secret, didn't you?” he said, looking over at daniel then back at noel, smiling at them. “good for you, good for you.”</p><p>noel laughed and hugged him again, patting his back and smiling, “thank you, lando.” </p><p>lando smiled at him and shook his hand, giving him a last look and a smile, sitting back on his chair. noel felt daniel’s hand settling on the small of his back as they walked back, and he turned around to face him again, when they were away from the tables and next to a bar.</p><p>“how are you enjoying it?” daniel said, resting his arm on the bar and reaching over to stroke noel’s face softly.</p><p>noel smiled at him and shook his head. “i still can't believe this is real.” he started, watching as daniel ordered them drinks. “we had such a nice day and now this. i- this is amazing.”</p><p>"and it's just the start of the week," daniel smiled at him and reached to hold his hand to bring it forward to his lips, kissing his knuckles softly. “i'm glad you're having fun.”</p><p>the barman smiled at them as he placed down two fruity looking drinks, daniel passed noel’s his and lifted his glass to initiate a toast.</p><p>“for us,” daniel said, winking at noel and clicking their glasses together.</p><p>“for us,” he said too, smiling widely at daniel because he was so happy. ignoring how crazy social media was going, ignoring everyone and everything, he was right where he wanted to be.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>noel felt hot everywhere by the time daniel parked by his apartment. daniel unbuckled and got out of the car, giving the doorman a smile and grabbing noel’s hand, running up the stairs, rushing to the door and unlocking it. </p><p>“next time, i'm coming with you,” noel said for the second time that the day, daniel pushed him gently up against the door, kissing him once it was closed.</p><p>“stop saying that,” daniel said against his mouth, biting his bottom lip. </p><p>noel chuckled and they stumbled inside, lip locked and couldn’t even make it out of the hallway before noel was pressed up against the wall. he ripped off daniel’s shirt as he did the same, then he wrapped his arms around his neck to connect his lips to his again. noel’s body felt like it was on fire already and he just didn't seem to get his clothes off fast enough.</p><p>it was not just about the sex tonight, though noel was a very big fan of that. it was the closeness, the intimacy and connection that they both missed. the feeling of being joined so deeply and truly that nothing could separate them. the way their bond hummed with vitality and happiness. but, when he was presed so close to daniel, skin to sweaty skin, the smell of sex in the air, his fingers idly trailing over daniel’s muscular chest…</p><p>noel shook himself a little, opening his eyes and meeting daniel’s dark gaze. "you good?” daniel breathed, his hands pressing on the skin of noel’s waist.</p><p>noel nodded, leaning forward to kiss him again, daniel sighed, arching up to meet noel as he lowered his head to kiss him deeper. noel lifted his hands to bury his fingers in daniel’s curls. </p><p>"baby," he sighed against noel’s neck. “i missed this so much.”</p><p>noel chuckled, “me too,” he whispered, bringing his fingers to lift daniel’s chin. “thought about you every night.”</p><p>daniel pressed his open mouth against noel’s cheek, just beneath his ear, “been thinking about you since this morning.”</p><p>"i was on a plane,” noel hissed, teasing him, his hands seeked out the soft skin on daniel’s back. "someone was sleeping next to me.”</p><p>"who cares?” daniel groaned, kissing noel’s shoulder, noel wrapped one of his legs around daniel’s waist, making him bite his bottom lip.</p><p>noel growled and wet kisses pressed to daniel’s lips. "should we hurry things up?" he asked, aware of how hard they both were against each other.</p><p>daniel shook his head at him and smiled. “you're so needy.”</p><p>"i need you.”</p><p>"you alr-” he was cut off by noel’s lips on his again. noel flipped them over so daniel was the one beneath him now, pulling his leg up so it was bracketing his waist.</p><p>“bedroom?” noel muttered against daniel’s lips, and daniel rolled his eyes but nodded, finally giving in.</p><p>and it had been too long since they had done this, and they were going slow with a burn that was almost unbearable for both of them.</p><p>daniel nibbled noel’s neck with his lips, leaving little kisses, a movement that made noel moan. daniel stretched his arm and skimmed a hand over noel’s clothed erection making noel’s nail dig on his knee, a hiss leaking out his mouth.</p><p>daniel’s hot breath dispersed across the tanned expanse of noel’s skin. he trembled with anticipation just at the hint of his boyfriend’s tongue gliding across his neck.</p><p>“dan,” noel said, warning and begging at the same time, daniel smirked, savouring the sweet scent of noel’s cologne. </p><p>noel dragged his hand over daniel’s erection now, dragging his entire palm down and over daniel’s clothed dick, creating delicious friction that had daniel pushing his hips up into the touch.</p><p>they broke away their kiss with gasps and noel chuckled, tilting his head to give daniel access to his neck again. daniel happily obliged, working his way down noel’s neck, sucking bruises into the skin marking him, not caring who saw them anymore, it's out, they're out. <em> free.</em></p><p>it was intoxicating, drowning themselves into each other, feeling each other, wanting each other, loving each other, freely and carelessly.</p><p>“you're so perfect,” daniel muttered, pressing one last kiss just above the waistband of noel’s dressing pants. </p><p>before daniel, noel never treasured the personal and intimate experience of making love. he never knew how unique it could be and he never knew who to trust, who loved him and who used him just to get close to cody. but with daniel it felt like a whole experience rather than <em>just</em> sex, they didn’t just make love, they <em> were </em> love. </p><p>“please, daniel, please, please, need you so bad, fuck, please,” noel was babbling by the time daniel wrapped a hand around his dick and was slowly working him open with the other one. “danny,” noel whined again in impatience, cocking an eyebrow downward in an intense, love-filled gaze.</p><p>“mhm,” daniel twisted his fingers deeper and noel moaned long and low, moving to meet the thrust of daniel’s hands. “so, so gorgeous,” daniel kept talking, adding another finger to the two already stretching noel open, because he never wanted him to hurt when he was inside him, tonight more than ever.</p><p>“i love you,” he said, curling his fingers up to search for his prostate, and noel didn't know if he was saying it to him or just to the air. </p><p>noel laughed, or at least tried to, before daniel found what he had been looking for, fingertips found the small bundle of nerves deep inside him. the laughter turned into another moan, as sweet as the others were, and daniel wanted to remember how noel looked and sounded forever, his lips swollen from kissing and chest flustered.</p><p>daniel couldn't help but lean forward and capture his lips with his own in a kiss, his fingers were still deep inside of noel and his hips were stuttering in their rhythm, every breath turned into a moan and daniel understood, because by now, he knew every way noel’s body reacted.</p><p>he pulled his fingers off and reached out for more lube, sparks of pleasure travelling up his spine when he slicked himself up. once more, he leaned in and kissed noel, their lips fitting together perfectly. </p><p>noel pulled him down for another kiss before letting daniel move back between his legs, putting them near his hips. he rolled his hips, and daniel took the hint, pushing into his boyfriend with practiced ease. </p><p>no matter how often they did this, it always took daniel’s breath away like it did that first time, noel tight and hot around him, spreading his legs farther apart to let daniel slide deeper inside him. for a moment, they stayed like that, both breathing heavily and noel’s eyes slipping shut as he adjusted to the feeling. noel smiled again and wrapped his arms around daniel’s neck, pulling him down and giving him permission to move.</p><p>“danny,” he let out in a broken voice. daniel obliged, without hesitation in slow and shallow thrusts. it made them both moan because it felt good and it felt right, especially when noel tangled a hand in his curls, hips meeting daniel’s next thrust. “i love you,” noel added and nuzzled his neck, then bit and kissed daniel’s skin to hold back a moan and make him moan instead. </p><p>“so perfect” daniel said, and noels eyes flew open, pleasure slowly clouding his mind as the new angle made it possible for daniel to slide deeper inside of him. and it was the right angle, too, because noel arched off the mattress and into daniel moaning his name. </p><p>“i love you too noel, so much,” daniel said, smiling as he peppered kisses all over noel’s face. </p><p>“want you to be mine forever,” daniel could tell that noel was close by the way his words stretched and his voice got deeper. he speed up his thrusts because he wanted, needed them to come together. noel gasped, moaned, breathed against his shoulder and daniel hummed.</p><p>“i'm yours forever” daniel replied and reached out to take noel’s hand, intertwining their fingers and holding on as he thrust into him once more, watching as the other fell apart underneath him slowly.</p><p>noel moaned his name, just the way daniel liked it, and daniel understood, bringing their lips together again, his hips never stilling as his other hand wrapped itself around noel’s dick, he gave two, three sloppy strokes until he was coming, clenching around him and pushing him over the edge as well, spilling his release deep inside him.</p><p>they stayed like this for a few minutes, close and safe and still fused together, listening to each other’s heartbeat until daniel finally found the strength in within himself to pull out noel, rolling over so he was lying as close to him as possible, one hand on his hip, the other hand’s fingers still laced together with his. </p><p>daniel looked up and found noel smiling softly at him, his fingers tightened around noel’s until it should have hurt but didn't, nothing that shortened the distance between them could ever hurt. and he pulled noel even closer, until every inch of skin that could be touching was, and kissed him, only a brush of lips against lips. </p><p>“told you i was gonna make sweet sweet love to you in monaco” daniel whispered, pulling away to laugh loudly. noel opened his mouth in surprise and covered his face with his arm, trying to keep his laugh in.</p><p>“you just had to ruin that, didn’t you?” he said, finally giving up and letting out a loud laugh.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>noel woke up with daniel almost on top of him, his head was on his chest and their legs were tangled together. he was snoring a little, and it just made noel’s stomach flutter. he opened his eyes and didn't know where he was for a second, then his mind recounted all the bits from the day before, he smiled and wrapped his arms tighter around daniel’s body, making him sigh contently.</p><p>“you awake?” he whispered, carefully brushing daniel’s hair off his face. daniel turned around to lay on his stomach and looked at noel. “morning.”</p><p>“i missed this,” daniel said, leaning forward to kiss noel’s forehead and smiling. </p><p>the air around them was nice, a warm tingly feeling on their skin as the sun touched it skin through the open windows.</p><p>“missed you,” noel said, reaching over with a hand to stroke daniel’s arm, running his fingers on his skin. “any plans?”</p><p>“showering,” daniel replied, smiling at noel and winking at him. </p><p>“with me or by yourself?” he said, fighting not to smile, trying to tease him. he knew daniel would want to take a shower with him, but it was still fun to mess around.</p><p>breaking the distance between them, daniel kissed him, noel hummed in response pulling himself on top of daniel. </p><p>“haven't had enough from last night?” daniel whispered in between breaths when noel closed his arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.</p><p>“no” noel smiled, mouthing at his neck, delighted when daniel let out a sigh. he sucked a mark into daniel’s collarbone and daniel had never been more grateful of having his whole body covered at work, allowing noel to mark everywhere on his body.</p><p>“you know” daniel said “we could take this to the showe-”</p><p>“no,” noel said, again, his voice rumbled through the kiss as he climbed daniel’s lap, trapping him to the bed “it’s warm in here,” he said, his voice deep and husky.</p><p>daniel laughed and let noel get his way. he bit at his pulse point “i love you” he breathed, biting slightly on the skin on daniel’s chest.</p><p>daniel kissed his nose, rubbing both his hands on noel’s naked back and making him shiver. “i love you, too.” he said, kissing his nose again “but we need to take a shower.”</p><p>“you're no fun,” noel said, rolling his eyes at him.</p><p>there, in the warm morning light, with the sun hitting daniel’s eyes, noel could feel all his senses tingling, the deepest parts of his soul leaning into him, and he asked himself how and why did he fall so hard for daniel.</p><p>at first he thought it was because he admired him, and loved what he did for a living. then, he considered it being just an attraction thing, daniel’s handsome and noel’s type on paper. then, he maybe thought it was because he came when noel most needed him, when he was vulnerable in a bar, ready to drink all night and pass out somewhere far away from home.</p><p>either way, when daniel was kissing him like he was, smiling into his mouth and running his hands everywhere he could, it really didn't matter. so he just pulled the covers away, and kissed all of daniel’s body as he could reach, even though he knew daniel wanted to do the same to him.</p><p>“shower,” daniel breathed, allowing noel to lean back and rest his hands on daniel’s knees.</p><p>“fine,” noel smiled, before leaning forward and biting daniel's nipple with a wink.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>the hot european weather and walking everywhere was way more exhausting than what noel had anticipated. he had thought he could handle it but clearly not. </p><p>they were walking by the seaside, the sun was setting next to them and it was delightfully half empty. they both had big ice cream cones in hand and daniel said something about skipping his diet for noel, but noel knew he would've done it anyway.</p><p>daniel was deep in a monologue about the dynamics of the monaco track and noel was just nodding as he took licks of his ice cream, enjoying daniel’s passionate speech and how much he loved his work.</p><p>they took a slow pace as daniel kept pausing to kiss noel and take pictures of the sunset, noel didn’t mind though, the blush on his cheeks started to get mixed up with his sunburnt.</p><p>his mind still ringed and asked him the reason <em> why, </em>but he tried to push it away, not wanting his thoughts get the best of him. not this week. </p><p>“something wrong?” daniel said, taking one last bite of his ice cream and wiping a hand over his mouth.</p><p>noel looked up and realised he had been looking at the ground for a while. “just- thinking.”</p><p>daniel raised his eyebrows and reached over to wrap his arm on noel’s shoulder as they kept walking, the cold water tingling on their bare feet. “about what?”</p><p>noel shook his head, not wanting to kill daniel’s mood with his stupid mind, they were having the best week ever and he didn't want to be that guy.</p><p>“it's fine. my mind’s just-” he tried to say, but got interrupted by daniel kissing his cheek. “ really loud.” he said, gesturing with a hand over his temple.</p><p>daniel giggled, stopping on his tracks and leaning forward to give noel’s lip a short kiss. “need help to quieten it down?” he asked, and he wasn't even trying to tease noel, it felt like a genuine question.</p><p>“you already do that,” noel replied, leaning forward to hug him, letting himself be held. “thank you.”</p><p>daniel chuckled against noel’s neck, shaking his head. “anytime.”</p><p>they continued to walk around taking in the sights and making small talk as they did. noel had clearly done his research about driving and daniel was so impressed at the things he knew, but he still teased him and called him a fan. </p><p>the beach started emptying really fast as the sun was setting, and people were starting to go into restaurants and for dinner, noel’s stomach rumbled a little and daniel giggled.</p><p>“you want to eat at home?” daniel asked, not really looking at noel and just watching as the water went in and out the shore. noel nodded and daniel sighed in relief, he was tired of crowds, too.</p><p>“what about,” noel started turning a little so he was facing daniel, wrapping both his arms around his waist, daniel smiled. “we try that hot tub of yours out?”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“can't believe you actually got a hot tub,” noel sighed contently, letting daniel walk him through the kitchen, the balcony doors, and onto the deck.</p><p>“noel,” he whispered.</p><p>“daniel,” noel replied in the same tone, raising his eyebrows at him.</p><p>“i've- been thinking about doing this for so long,” daniel whispered, leaning forward to wrap his arms on noel’s waist. “too long.”</p><p>noel smiled, “me too.”</p><p>daniel chuckled, pulling away and reaching over to pull his sleeveless t-shirt over his head. “yeah?”</p><p>noel nodded and imitated him, unbuttoning his shirt and throwing it on the floor of the deck, daniel sighed and leaned forward to press his bare chest to noel’s.</p><p>“it's hot in here,” noel said, not really sure if he meant it or just wanted to tease daniel.</p><p>it <em> was </em> hot, well past the mid-90s even with the sun down. daniel grinned, “maybe we should get in.”</p><p>noel smiled at him back, and daniel winked, only making noel smile wider. noel decided to take the first step and get into the hot tub, resting back in the corner where he could stare right at daniel as he slowly got inside the tub too, making sure to memorise the sight for when he couldn't have it. </p><p>"hurry.” noel tried to say, but his voice cracked when daniel’s abs flexed as they came in contact with the water.</p><p>"mhm?" daniel answered, sitting down and getting close to noel, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “you tired?”</p><p>noel shook his head, lifting his gaze up from daniel to look at the sky, the city lights shining on his face. daniel sighed and rested his head on noel’s, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.</p><p>“i'm so happy you're here with me,” daniel said, and noel could swear his accent got thicker. noel didn't say anything back, just leaned down to capture daniel’s lips on his. daniel moaned into the kiss, lifting himself up to sit on noel’s lap, chuckling a little into his mouth. “hi.”</p><p>noel pulled away to let out a laugh, kissing daniel’s jaw and lowering to suck on his collarbone. “i'm so happy we met.”</p><p>“what do you mean?” daniel says, running his hands on noel’s bare shoulders and pressing down a little with the tips of his fingers.</p><p>“you know,” noel said, lifting his head to press his forehead against daniel’s, closing his eyes and panting slightly. “the night we met-” he started, not sure where he was going with it. “i didn't know what i wanted to do, other than get drunk until i couldn’t stand.” daniel hummed, kissing noel’s cheek and letting him speak. “but then- you. i don’t know, i don't even remember anything except your laugh and your eyes. i guess that was all i needed.” </p><p>daniel lifted his head to look at noel then, giving him a smile. “you were- so beautiful,” he started, “that night. i don’t know what it was, but i just wanted you to be safe.” noel smiled back at him, reaching down to stroke his thighs through the fabric of his swimwear.</p><p>“i love you, daniel.” noel said, his hands finding pause on his waist. “like i've never loved anyone.”</p><p>daniel swallowed and gave noel a big, bright smile, brighter than any of the lights that illuminated the city. “i love you too, noel.”</p><p>noel pulled away as far as he could without breaking the embrace and looked up at daniel through blissful eyes, who returned the same intensity back, "look at me."</p><p>a short pause. then, slowly, daniel lifted his head, bright honey eyes meeting his. noel didn't say anything, he just leaned in and kissed daniel. he stroked his cheek, tilted his head further, and kissed him with little self-control but a lot of passion. and when daniel kissed back, arched into it, draped his arms around noel’s shoulders, there was no going back. their tongues met, their eyes closed, and their bodies pressed together up against the frame of the tub.</p><p>daniel felt it then, he rolled his hips and pressed down on noel, making him throw his head forward and whimper. “look at <em> you </em>,” daniel said, circling his hips. “so beautiful and hard for me.”</p><p>“daniel…” noel started, but daniel shut him with a kiss, open mouthed and sloppy, and noel let him have it.</p><p>daniel chuckled against his mouth, bringing both palms to grab noel’s face and press his mouth into his, panting slightly. “want you to fuck me, " he said, biting noel’s bottom lip. “here, like this.” </p><p>noel nodded and whispered a small “yeah,” letting daniel lift off him to pull his swim trunks down, letting his dick be hit with the hot water of the tub, daniel laughed as he watched him throw them over his head like he was trying to score a goal.</p><p>daniel, instead, took his sweet time. he got off noel with a laugh, thumbs hooked beneath the band of his shorts and tugged as slowly as they could. noel was losing his mind, it was damn near agonizing, and he was in heaven when he saw the now familiar, inked skin on daniel’s thighs. noel smiled and motioned him to get back on his lap with a small turn of his head.</p><p>“never done this before,” noel whispered on daniel’s neck, proceeding to suck a small mark on it. “like- in the open.” </p><p>daniel chuckled and placed his hands on noel's back, stroked up and down his spine to try and soothe him. noel shuddered and leaned forward, their foreheads pressed together, each breath hot against the other's lips. "don’t think about where we are.”</p><p>noel hummed in agreement, his hands found daniel’s shoulders and and held on, squeezing a little. his hands slid down his spine, towards his ass, between his legs. noel licked his lips when daniel’s palm pressed against his dick, daniel whined and tightened his grip. "you're so hot,” daniel teased, glancing up at him.</p><p>"get on with it." noel said, and daniel’s peace got slower. "jesus, daniel." he groaned loudly, throwing his head back into the edge.</p><p>“quiet, noel.” daniel whispered, hot and teasingly on noel’s ear, “everyone can hear you.”</p><p>“good," he whispered back, kissing daniel's jaw. "let them know.”</p><p><em> and he sure was </em>. whining pathetically under daniel’s touch even if he was the one supposed to be in charge. he reached, with all the strength he could gather, to press a finger on daniel’s entrance, making him shudder.</p><p>daniel rolled his hips, in time with his hand that was on noel, and he took the hint, pressing the finger down.</p><p>"shift your hips." noel commanded, the posture hurting his arm. "just- yeah.” he said, and hissed when daniel’s dick pressed against his. noel tried to fasten his peace, adding a second finger and scissoring them as best as he could.</p><p>“i'm ready, hurry.” daniel said, reaching over to press noel against his rim. “please, just-”</p><p>noel shushed him, and bucked forward almost instantly, swearing and straining, sweat beading at his wrinkled forehead as he made his way inside daniel. “christ-” </p><p>and they were lost. neither one could speak, reduced to gasps and whimpers as they bucked up against each other. the water sloshed and splattered on the floor without acknowledgement. noel’s head fell on daniel’s shoulder with a thud.</p><p>a was a hot whisper against noel’s ear that snapped him back to earth. "harder, noel.” it was almost pained, the restraint almost hurting him.  </p><p>noel obeyed, wrapping both of his hands on daniel’s waist and pressing him to his chest, fucking faster into him. </p><p>“shit,” daniel’s toes curled inward and he whined, moaning pathetically on the small of his neck.</p><p>noel could feel himself getting closer with every thrust, his hand, stroking daniel, having lost rhythm somewhere along the way. </p><p>"close," daniel groaned, nosing into noel’s collarbone. noel knew it already, he could feel it, in how tense he was, how he trembled against him. "so good.”</p><p>“yeah? feel good?” noel groaned, biting daniel’s shoulder and giving one last thrust of his hand.</p><p>there was no telling who came first. neither of them were particularly quiet. daniel gasped, eyes wide open and hips arched high as he spilled on noel’s fist, and somewhere down the line noel had joined him with a cry of his name. noel was barely aware of daniel jumping off him and sitting next to him, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his face.</p><p>“don’t fall asleep on me, i'm not gonna carry you to the bed.” he laughed, shaking noel’s shoulders a little. </p><p>“what time is it?” noel said, closing his eyes and leaning back. letting daniel be the one to reach to grab his phone. </p><p>“almost midnight.” he whispered, throwing his phone on a chair and immediately cuddling close to noel, taking advantage of the still warm water.</p><p>noel just grinned and hummed satisfiedly, they went quiet for a moment, a warm silence surrounding and blanketing them. noel’s eyes forced themselves shut again and daniel stroked his back with his hand.</p><p>noel's eyes fluttered open and he slowly lifted his hand to touch daniel’s face. daniel felt like the air was knocked out of his lungs when he was met by noel’s dreamy gaze.</p><p>“i wish you could stay”, daniel said, in a hushed, dreamy voice, lazily caressing noel's cheek with his fingertips. “forever.”</p><p>noel smiled fondly at daniel, there was a gleam in his eyes that noel didn't recognize, “you thought sex in the hot tub would make me stay?” he murmured while edging his thumb along daniel’s jaw.</p><p>“no, jeebers”, daniel chuckled, and then he suddenly flashed a smile that matched noel’s. “a blowjob would've been enough, i’m <em> really </em> talented."</p><p>noel laughed at him and shook his head. “i love you, idiot.” </p><p>“i love you, too.” daniel let out a contented sigh. “we're going to be okay.”</p><p>daniel kissed him, harder this time, small tears rolling down his cheeks. and then he buried his face against his boyfriend’s neck. noel just held him tight, this being the first time daniel cried in front of him. he cried out of sadness and out of love, letting himself finally sink into it, letting everything there was to be left out with soft sobs.</p><p>noel stroked his hair, tangled his fingers through the messy mop of curls over and over again as all the rest of daniel’s stress and restlessness and tiredness washed over him, planting small kisses in the curls and leaving behind a teardrop or two himself while doing so. </p><p>they're going to be okay.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>noel was standing in front of the fridge, the door hanging open. he was staring intently at the shelves, taking stock of what daniel had. with a sigh he closed the door and walked away, his stomach growling at him and he wanted to growl back. he wandered to the bedroom, past daniel, who was getting ready in the mirror. shuffling to the bed, he flopped down face first, groaning into the blanket. daniel turned his head to look at him</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“what’s wrong?” noel turned his head and looked back at him, “hungry?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“yeah, there's no food.” noel rolled his eyes at daniel’s grin, “what do you even eat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel shrugged, standing, fully dressed now, in the door, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.  “do u wanna go get some?” daniel smiled at him, coming in to sit on the edge of the bed, wrapping a warm hand on his waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel smiled into the comforter, daniel’s touch reminding him of the morning after they met. “please.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>daniel was sitting on his motorbike, getting ready to turn the key, he was wearing a grey sweater and a black jacket, and noel wanted to stop staring but he couldn't. noel wasn’t on it yet, he was just standing there, wide eyed, biting his bottom lip and looking at daniel, sitting on his bike and looking like a god.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“come on, i know how to drive this baby.” daniel said, giving him a wink and patting the bike slightly. noel sighed, and got on, pausing for a moment to think over where to put his hands. he decided on placing them on his shoulders, sitting back as far as he could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“get closer,” daniel whispered, handing him his helmet and adjusting his own. “come on, baby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel smiled a little and nodded, shifting closer and wrapping both of his arms on daniel’s waist making sure he was placed properly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“good?” daniel said, and lifted his foot to start the bike when noel nodded and tightened his grip slightly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>daniel left the driveway like he already knew where they were going. noel let him drive in silence for the first few streets before leaning forward to ask, “so where are we going?” he said, and daniel swung around a turn in the road, leaning the bike into it. noel tightened his grip on his waist, his heart leaping into his throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“little restaurant a few streets over, real mexican food.” daniel shouted back over the wind. a light ahead of them turned red, and daniel didn't slow down, and noel hated him and his love for speed sometimes, he held his breath behind him and tightened his eyes shut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“jesus, daniel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>the bike stopped right at the white line at the top of the lane. noel let out his breath, trying to remember not to break daniel’s bones and manually relaxing his clenched up hands. he heard daniel laugh at him, and the light turned green a few seconds later, and they took off again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel suddenly remembered he had eyes, he opened them and lifted his head from daniel’s back, looking around through the visor of his helmet. it was almost golden hour and the city looked beautiful, barely any people were outside and it was quiet and peaceful. he smiled at himself and at the air, his brain trying to process the last few months of his life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>and it was a few more turns before they were on the street daniel was looking for. he slowed down, and turned into a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> parking lot in front of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> restaurant. he removed his helmet and ran a hand through his curls to fix them, noel leaned down and kissed him shortly, before taking his hand and letting himself be walked inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel led them to a booth by a window. the bike could be seen in its parking space, front wheel tilting off to the side. daniel sighed, staring down at the table and back at noel with a big smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i come here all the time during summer break.” he said, taking the menu and scanning it with his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“food looks good.” noel replied, half-wishing daniel would tell him more stories about his life. he liked hearing about them and he wanted to know every single detail of his lifestyle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel raised his eyebrows, “mate, it's amazing.” and he went on, falling into his favourite topic, food, “i'm ordering for us both, by the way, driver’s choice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel laughed and threw his menu in front of him, flashing daniel a smile. “alright, then.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel smiled at his boyfriend, and turned his head to a waitress, making eye contact and sending a little wave her way. she nodded, and finished taking the order of the table she was at. after she’d delivered the order to the kitchen, she walked over to daniel and noel’s table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“what can we get you two tonight?” she asked, noel looked at daniel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel ordered birria tacos, and the sole thought of it made noel’s stomach hurt but he let daniel have it, smiling when the food came in and daniel’s face lighted up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>the clatter of dishes scattering away the silence around their table. the food really did look good. daniel’s stomach was growling from across the table. he dug into the food immediately after thanking the waitress. noel watched him for a few seconds, then gave him a grin, digging into it too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>when their plates were cleared, and the bill was paid, noel closed his eyes and breathed for a minute, laying back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i'm so fucking full.” he said, opening his eyes a bit and looking at daniel, who was giving him a beautiful and bright smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“me too,” daniel said, reaching over with his leg and pressing it against noel’s knee. “ready to go home?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel nodded, and almost wanted to complain when daniel withdrew his leg from him. but then daniel smiled at him as he walked out, giving him a wink. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>he slid his arms around daniel’s stomach when they both were sitting down in the bike again, and pressed closer to him. he let his thoughts wander again, thinking about how lucky he was and how much he appreciated daniel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“too fast?” daniel asked, with a small chuckle. noel shook off his thoughts, pulling his head back away from daniel’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“just wanna be closer to you,” he said, and he was pretty sure he was yelling over the wind. daniel made a noise between a scoff and laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“sure,” he laughed again, they were back at the stop light. noel put his head against daniel’s shoulder again and breathed out. daniel urged the bike to go onward when the light turned green.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel parked next to his car, helping noel off his helmet and kissing his forehead once it was off. noel sighed and let himself be kissed in public, something he thought he'd never do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i don’t want you to leave,” daniel said after a second, walking noel back until they were leaning against his car, capturing his lips in a kiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel sighed loudly and pulled away, resting his face on daniel’s chest. “i don’t want to leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel didn't say anything and instead just wrapped both of his arms around noel’s shoulders, pressing him against him and smiling. “i'm driving you to the airport, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel nodded and lifted his arms so he could run his fingers on daniel’s hair, sweaty from the helmet and the motorbike ride. daniel captured his lips in a kiss again, and they both couldn't help but smile into it and to each other.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>daniel kept his eyes closed as he reached blindly for noel’s body, who scooted away from him in the night. he didn’t feel like getting up yet but could tell it was morning. he patted his bed until he was met with his boyfriend’s naked chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel sighed softly when daniel wrapped both arms around his waist and pressed him closer, giving him a small kiss on the cheek and holding i'm there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“morning,” noel mumbled on daniel’s chest, raising his head to look at him, eyes half closed in dizzy sleepiness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel smiled and kissed his nose. “hello.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“last one of these-” noel said softly, his eyes closing again and letting a sigh before continuing, "mornings together."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i know.” daniel let out a small laugh. memories of the last week buzzing around his mind. he moved to lay back on the bed and let noel climb on his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>with the way was looking up at him and the way he always looked in tho morning, noel couldn’t resist and leaned down to kiss him. daniel eagerly reciprocated his actions and smiled against his lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>he digged his nail’s on noel’s hips in an attempt to pull him closer, noel smiled into the kiss as he pulled daniel’s bottom lip into his mouth and sucked lightly on it. they both gasped, which caused the other to let out a groan. noel moved up, so he had daniel pinned on the bed and deepened the kiss. he curled his tongue around his and daniel gasped again. they kissed for a few minutes until they reluctantly broke apart for air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“shower?” daniel said with his lips barely ghosting over noel’s, teasing him like he always did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“mhm,” noel agreed as he kissed him lightly a few more times.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>daniel led them both to the bathroom, hands roaming noel’s naked body and letting out loud laughs as the other batted them away. they wasted no time and jumped into the hot stream of water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“hey,” daniel said, looking at noel, who had his eyes closed and was letting the water fall on his back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>he slowly opened his eyes and looked at daniel. “what's up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“you're beautiful,” he said, and noel smiled sheepishly, shaking his head and closing his eyes again. “perfect," daniel said and noel shook his head again as he reached for the body wash he kept in the shower. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>he rubbed his hands over daniel’s muscles and down his back massaging him as he went. daniel felt as though he could burst from happiness at any moment. he would never understand how he had gotten so lucky. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>when noel was finished, daniel made sure to give the favour back and took the time to really appreciate his boyfriend's body, too. he realised he never really took in the sight that was noel, and how much he loved every inch of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“can't believe you're leaving,” daniel whispered on noel’s shoulder, letting out a deep sigh and closing his eyes. “it doesn't feel real.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel sighed too, but he didn’t say anything as his hand tangled on daniel’s wet hair and pulled him in for a short kiss that left them both wanting more. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>airports were never nice places to noel. they were busy, the lights were glaring and hurt your eyes. there was too much hustle and way too many people, and it was a place for goodbyes. it was a place for reunions, too, but a reunion didn't come without a goodbye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel’s carry on, packed tight and heavy, rested innocently against his knee, reminding him it was time to go. daniel sat in front of him, concern and worry on his face as he watched noel frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i don't want you to leave either,” daniel complained, his hand moved forward to rest on noel’s knee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel smiled sadly and nodded in agreement. reaching out to tangle his fingers with his boyfriend’s, he spoke softly, “it still sucks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“winter break is soon.” daniel said, shaking noel’s leg and squeezing reassuringly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“two months.” he took a deep breath and raises his head to meet daniel’s eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i know, baby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel knew as well as daniel did- their work schedules and lifestyles didn't match, and neither of them could give up their jobs and dreams and lives to be with each other, at least not for a few years. but the knowledge didn't make the practice more bearable. </span>
  <span>but they were in love and even though it wasn't easy, they made it work, they will always be in together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>the robotic voice over the announcement system said otherwise. it was time for noel to go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel doesn’t move as he squeezes his hand in his, looking noel in the eyes. “come on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>noel bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to start crying cry in public and in front of daniel, he’d had enough of that. he clicked his tongue as he got up the seat, letting out a soft sigh and an, “alright,” as he does.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel followed him, hand in hand as they walked through the crowds, ignoring looks and people. noel laughed when someone almost shouted daniel’s name but daniel just ignored them, following noel wherever he wanted to go. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>they stopped in front of the security check, daniel immediately pulled noel in tightly for a hug. noel held him back just as tightly, pressing his face into the warmth of his neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i’m gonna miss you, so much,” noel whispered, “fuck, why am i so sad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel laughed softly, squeezing him tighter, “i think it's called ‘having feelings’.” he felt a huff of breath against him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“yeah, well, make it stop.” noel laughed, pinching daniel’s waist playfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>daniel pressed a tender kiss to the skin on his forehead. “sorry, you're stuck with me now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>they pulled back from each other, loosening their embrace just enough so that they could look the other in the eyes. this part of the airport is as far as daniel could go. they must separate here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>there was just one thing left to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>they kissed, warm and soft and familiar, tongues meeting in perfect sync, noel couldn't help it but melt into daniel’s warm embrace.  eventually, noel forced himself to pull away. daniel licked his lips, enjoying how noel’s eyes briefly locked on his tongue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i’ll miss you,” daniel whispered. like a secret, between just the two of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“me too.” noel sighed, his eyes closing and forehead pressing close to daniel’s. “i love you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i love you, too.” daniel sighed back, “we'll see each other soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>with one last squeeze, noel forced himself to let go for now, not ready to go back to his normal life.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>noel wouldn't cry. not until he got home, at least. instead, he dragged his feet through airports and sidewalks, hoping daniel would magically appear next to him and hold his hand as he walked.</p><p>he threw his suitcase and jacket on the floor, kicking his shoes on the way as soon as he was home. he flopped face down on the bed, letting a deep sigh and immediately falling asleep, not even noticing the sun was rising behind his curtains.</p><p>he woke up with a pounding headache and almost wanted to throw up. he rubbed his eyes as he opened his curtains, the bright afternoon sun hit his face and he groaned in protest, walking back to catch his phone to check the time.</p><p>three p.m and five texts from daniel.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: tell me when u wake up</p><p><b>daniel</b>: miss you like crazy</p><p><b>daniel</b>: come back</p><p><b>daniel</b>: :(</p><p>the last message was a picture, noel smiled and ignored the pain on his chest as he opened it; daniel’s beautiful face in the monaco golden hour. he, corny enough, stroked his thumbs over his screen with a pout.</p><p><b>noel</b>: just woke up</p><p><b>noel</b>: feel like shit</p><p><b>noel</b>: miss u too</p><p>daniel texted back when noel was about to get in the shower, the water was running already and he was leaning against the cold tile when he grabbed his phone.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: i fucking hate sleeping alone</p><p>noel smiled and shook his head as he typed an answer.</p><p><b>noel</b>: me too</p><p>he decided to add a shirtless picture to that too, taking advantage of the fog gathering on the mirror in front of him.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: ;)</p><p>it didn't take long for daniel to also send a shirtless picture, noel admired it for a long minute and took a deep breath, his thumbs moved quickly and so did his mind.</p><p><b>noel</b>: showering &lt;3 brb</p><p>he heard the <em> ding </em>of his phone as he got in the shower, letting out a small chuckle.</p><p><b>daniel</b>: bastard</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>he called daniel as soon as he got off the shower, not even bothering to put clothes back on, since all of his stuff was still packed. he sat on his half-made bed as he waited for his boyfriend to answer the phone. he picked up at the second ring.</p><p>“hey,” noel said, his voice already dropping an octave.</p><p>“<em>hello, handsome.” </em> he heard from the other end, accompanied by a giggle. <em> “i miss you.” </em></p><p>“miss you too,” he said, looking over the window and biting the inside of his mouth, waiting for daniel to talk.</p><p><em> "i know</em>,” daniel’s voice had also dropped a few octaves, his accent getting thicker. "<em>i guess the question now is, what are you wearing?'" </em></p><p>"nothing,” he chuckled softly when he heard daniel take a deep breath. there was a pause then, “um- what are <em> you </em> wearing?”</p><p>“<em>just underwear.</em>" daniel laughed softly. “<em>the sheets still smell like you.”</em></p><p>there was a short pause before noel spoke again.</p><p>“god, i want you here right now,” he whispered, wiggling around on the bed until his back met the pillows.</p><p>daniel hummed appreciatively. “<em>you sound tired. i wish i was there to help you relax.” </em></p><p>noel bit his bottom lip and smiled before he spoke again. “and how exactly would you do that?”</p><p>“<em>maybe rub those tense shoulders of yours, or kiss down your chest to your stomach.” </em> noel flushed and let out a sigh. “<em>where are you now?” </em>daniel continued.</p><p>“my room.” noel said, curiosity in his voice.</p><p>noel heard the rustle of fabric and assumed daniel was getting into bed. “<em>send me another picture.” </em></p><p>“you send me one first.”</p><p>“<em>fine </em>,”  shifting himself against the wall, daniel took a picture of his chest and his stomach, making sure to include his arm as well.</p><p>he sent the photo and, unthinkingly, slowly reached down to touch the outside of his boxers. he closed his eyes and imagined noel opening the photo, his cheeks reddening.</p><p>“god, daniel.” noel took a deep breath. “i'm making this my lock screen.”</p><p>daniel exhaled sharply. he swiped through his camera roll again, quickly, examining the picture noel sent earlier. he swallowed upon finding the photo. focused on noel’s shoulders and his heavy breathing on the phone.</p><p><em> “tell me what you would do to me if you were here</em>,” he said, squeezing his hand a little harder.</p><p>noel paused. regained composure and took a deep breath. “i think i'd get you out of your underwear, first of all.”</p><p>daniel leaned back, took in a breath. he imagined noel rolling on top of him, kissing him and sucking on his bottom lip as he pulled his underwear down.</p><p>“then i’d kiss you and run hands down your chest.”</p><p>daniel let out a groan and noel smiled, satisfied.</p><p>“i’d take your dick in my hand, and slowly stroke it, the way you like it, yeah?”</p><p>daniel’s breath got shallower. he opened his eyes, looked down, sent another picture of his chest.</p><p>“<em>noel?”</em></p><p>noel got up quickly to close his curtains. “yeah?”</p><p>“<em>are you okay?”</em></p><p>noel slumped into his bed. “open your messages and ask me again.”</p><p>daniel choked on his words. “<em>jesus</em>.”</p><p>“what? weren't expecting a dick pic?”</p><p><em> “i want you to get on your knees for me, so bad."</em> he whispered, his voice going impossibly deeper and noel could swear he was going crazy.</p><p>daniel moaned and he could tell when noel’s gasp meant he began to stroke himself. he turned over in his bed. he imagined grabbing noel’s head, pulling him in, feeling him run his tongue over his dick. he also imagined noel pulling his hair as he bobbed his head back and forth. </p><p><em>“you sound so pretty, i bet you look even prettier</em>.”</p><p>he knew noel was close. the squeaking of the bed and rustling of the sheets revealed as much. noel’s moans were like heaven. daniel even slowed his hand just to listen to noel.</p><p>he could perfectly imagine him. laying in his bed, back arched because of the pleasure overtaking him. one hand stroking his dick while the other grabs the phone and presses it close to his ear. his head pushes backwards into the pillows. eyes closed. mouth opened. </p><p>daniel got back to talking after a few seconds. “<em>i’m gonna- fuck you until you cry, baby</em>,” he started to move his hand faster again. “<em>and i'll kiss the tears off your face,</em>” noel let out a cry. “<em>i</em> <em>want to watch you fall apart.”</em></p><p>“daniel,” noel moaned. and daniel felt his knees buckle under him at the tone in his voice. </p><p>“<em>are you close, baby?”</em></p><p>“danny,” noel moaned again. daniel was sure he couldn't even hear him, too lost in his sensations and his pleasure.</p><p>“<em>i'll let you fuck me, too</em>,” he added. “<em>we can probably go all night.”</em></p><p>noel cried out his name again, and followed it with a series of long moans and smaller cries.</p><p>“<em>come for me, noel.”</em></p><p>and with a last cry of his name, noel let out the dirtiest moan daniel had ever heard, and he could only follow him suit. he came with a moan of noel’s name and a growl. choked up by a cry because of how good it felt. he just wished he could physically touch, grip, mark his boyfriend. they were both breathing loudly, erratic and uneven. both coming down from the edge.</p><p>noel knew daniel has a dumb smile on his face right now, because he always did. noel probably had one arm over his eyes, trying to calm down his breathing. </p><p>“<em>feel sleepy yet?</em>” daniel asked, letting out another laugh and making noel roll his eyes at him.</p><p>“no,” he said, and it was only a half-truth.</p><p>daniel laughed again, “<em>we can go again.”</em></p><p>and they did. and needless to say, noel took another shower.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>one month, three weeks, and four days. noel hasn’t technically counted down the hours and minutes, but he has marked off day after day on the calendar in his studio. daniel’s been all over the world and busy, but noel’s been alone in his apartment because he barely sees cody anymore and spock is on holiday, and it's the longest they’ve been apart in almost a year.</p><p>noel’s not codependent or anything, he just prefers it when it’s daniel he wakes up to instead of a phone that he forgot to plug in.</p><p>daniel does his best to not lose his mind on his end. surely, driving fast and traveling keeps him busy, but there's nothing like coming home to a warm body to embrace at night, instead of cold hotel rooms and stiff pillows.</p><p>noel's flight arrives in the early afternoon and daniel has all the time in the world. still, he arrives at the arrivals terminal with plenty of time to spare. he grabs a coffee from the only shop on this side of the security gate and nervously taps his fingers against his thigh, doing his best to not constantly check the time.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>noel wants nothing more than a hot shower, a cold beer, and his boyfriend. he’s been in airports and airplanes for over twenty-four hours and he wonders how his body hasn't given up on him yet.</p><p>he glances at the time on his phone, sighing when he realizes there's another forty minutes left until they land and then focuses back on editing his video to get it done before he gets too distracted with daniel and his family later in the day.</p><p>his ears pop as they descend and his knees bounce, and he has never been more thankful about first class. he’s sure any seat-mate he’d have would have kicked him in the ribs for being so fidgety and annoying.</p><p>finally, the plane pulls up to a gate and several long, excruciating minutes later, the flight attendant signals for them to disembark. his handbag is small and easy to grab from the overhead bin, so it doesn’t take long to get it and go.</p><p>he follows the signs to the baggage claim, remembering on the way to turn his phone off airplane mode. a few texts come through as well as a couple of emails that he swipes away as he walks.</p><p>it feels like he walks from one end of the airport to the other until finally he passes through the exit, signs warning him of no re-entry. there’s nervousness that runs up and down his spine for no reason and he grips the strap of his bag tightly as he slips through a set of sliding doors.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>there’s a screaming child somewhere near him and daniel, so badly, wants to put his earbuds in, but he doesn’t want to miss any announcements about arriving flights. so instead, he does his best to ignore it by staring at the artwork posted on a wall near him. he raises his head to listen over the conversations around him whenever information is announced over the speaker system.</p><p>the baggage claim screen flashes for a moment, catching his eye and he watches as noel’s flight number makes its way onto the screen. he swallows hard, and lightly taps against the now empty coffee cup in his hands.</p><p>he tosses the cup into a nearby trash can and goes back to his spot. from there he can see directly down the hallway that dumps all arrivals into baggage claim. he props his foot against the wall and crosses his arms, eyes roving over the throng of people, searching for noel with his eyes.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>the arrivals terminal is filled with families and friends, some checking their watches or standing on tiptoes to get a better look at those coming out of the exit. others are waiting in the background, too early for flights and pick ups and just milling around the lobby.</p><p>daniel is tall enough that he doesn’t need to strain hard to see over the tops of heads, so he casts a glance around, searching for the figure he hopes is his boyfriend.</p><p>when he finally sees him, his breath catches like he’s seeing him for the first time all over again. noel hasn’t seen him yet, but he watches as his eyes flit from person to person, trying to pick him out of the crowd.</p><p>daniel is slouched against a wall, one foot propped up behind him, black shorts and a white shirt that make him look tanner, can even see a peak of a tattoo on the hem of the jean fabric. </p><p>and then noel sees him. daniel watches as his eyes meet his and his face lights up, his grin is as bright as the sun. he stands straight and then moves to meet him, not running but definitely walking faster than he normally would, long legs bringing him closer and closer to his. his smile matches his as he picks up his pace, hitching his bag up higher on his shoulder.</p><p>it takes them no time at all and somehow ages to come together, but finally, daniel’s arms slide around noel’s and they are finally, finally pressed together, from chest to toe, and something inside him finally relaxes as he tucks his face on his neck.</p><p>noel smells like sweat and coffee and the expensive cologne daniel bought him for his birthday. he’s warm and solid and <em> his </em> and his warm smile presses up against the skin of his neck.</p><p>“hey danny,” he whispers, warm breath tickling his ear. the nickname makes daniel’s cheeks flush and he pulls him tighter against his. soon though, daniel pulls away, leaning back as far as he will let him, bringing his hands up to brush against the back of his neck.</p><p>“hey,” daniel whispers into the small space in between them, eyes tracking all over noel's face. he’s only seen it in pixels for the last few weeks, but now that he sees him for real, it feels like home. he can see the small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes from smiling, and he sees the flecks of honey in his irises. his cheeks are red and he knows it’s partly from embarrassment from their blatant public display of affection.</p><p>daniel smiles at him, bring and beautiful and noel can’t resist it and pulls him closer to his, hand tangled in the hair at the base of his head and watching his eyes flutter shut as he leans in to press a kiss to his lips. he feels him sigh against his lips and he knows that he is just as glad to see him as he is. his hands clench against his sides when he pulls away, but he leans his forehead against his as he rubs his thumbs against his waist.</p><p>“welcome to australia.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"nice view, isn't it?" daniel whisperered from his spot, looking over the balcony. it was a calm night, a gentle breeze messing up his hair. noel could get a glimpse of curls under the cap he was wearing. his face was slightly sunburnt, from laying in the sun, and noel could feel the world slow as he stared at him.</p><p>"yeah." noel murmured, despite the fact that he hasn't even looked at the mountains below them yet.</p><p>finally glancing over, it was a stunning sight. it was nothing compared to the man standing next to him, but the night sky glimmered, comforting and clear, and the town was lit up and sparkling in the late hour. noel shuffled closer to daniel, so that he was standing next to him, shoulder to shoulder. the warmth radiating off of him offset the cooler breeze, and noel would not trade this moment for anything in the world.</p><p>a heavy weight wrapped around his shoulders and tugged him closer, as daniel put his arm around him, offering further warmth. noel was more than welcoming to the touch, sinking into his boyfriend easily. a glance up revealed brown, almost hazel, eyes staring down at him, with utter adoration in their gaze. noel smiled gently, rising upwards to plant a small kiss on his jaw. daniel responded by nuzzling into the side of his face playfully.</p><p>daniel flushed, glancing away to the scenery as his heart rate picked up slightly at the touch. he rested his head on noel’s shoulders, practically draped over the him. his hand moved to his, as it lightly stroked over it in comfort. "i missed you."</p><p>noel hummed slightly in acknowledgment, melting into the touch. his head was already starting to feel fuzzy, overwhelmed with all of the soft, gentle touches and the steady weight of daniel leaning on him as much as he is. at this rate, he'll fall asleep before they see anything. as nice as that would be, it wasn't what he wanted for tonight.</p><p>reluctantly, noel pulled away slightly, not completely, but just enough so that he wouldn't pass out on daniel’s arms. it wouldn't be the first time, and normally he would give in, but they promised each other they were going to watch the fireworks.</p><p>two months passed by so much faster when he saw daniel every weekend on tv, doing what he loves, but daniel’s arms couldn't be replicated by a computer screen. and australia was beautiful, daniel’s whole family welcomed him with open arms and he couldn't be happier. and they didn't have to fight with crowds at all, they could just stand close to each other, talk quietly, and enjoy each other. it was perfect.</p><p>and noel wanted to appreciate and treasure every moment of it.</p><p>thankfully, they didn't have to wait long before the fireworks started. neither of them could find it in themselves to speak as distant booms sounded in the sky, and bright, blinding colors decorated the night. sparks flew and fizzled out, just to be replaced by a new explosion of stars and smoke. it was noel, this time, noel was the one who cuddled up to daniel, returning them to their previous position, as both of them watched the show with awe and feeling each other’s heartbeat.</p><p>the finale was dazzling, full of bright colors, fancy fireworks, and a dizzying amount of smoke and sparks. it lasted a few minutes, but it passed by quickly. the final set of fireworks ended, with only billowing smoke left over, and even that was fading away quickly. noel and daniel remained in their comfortable embrace for a long time, even after everything cleared up, too wrapped up in their own affection.</p><p>"thank you for letting me in your home." noel finally murmured, pulling back to look at daniel. "it's nice in here.”</p><p>daniel’s eyes were half-lidded and almost shut as he whispered with a small chuckle. "it's nice to have you home."</p><p>they pulled together to kiss again, their lips met gently. it was a chaste kiss, one that soothed any of noel’s remaining anxieties or worries. <em>i like being home</em>, he thought idly, as they parted slightly for breath. <em>i like being home</em>, daniel thought too, as he stared into noel’s bright eyes.</p><p>"i love you." daniel murmured, voice thick with adoration. their faces were almost touching, a pleasant tension hanging in the air as they clung to one another. "so much."</p><p>noel responded with another kiss, a much deeper, more intimate kiss. there was so much that words couldn't tell, including his own feelings, and he could only hope that the meaning carried through his lips, through his hands that ran through daniel’s back, through every small action he did.</p><p>"more than anything." he added, after they pulled apart again, with soft, vocal little breaths breaking up his words.</p><p>"more than anything." noel repeated, one hand coming up to rest against daniel’s cheek. daniel let his hands fall from noel’s neck to rest them on his waist.</p><p>in a few weeks, he would have to go to bed with daniel for the last time, wake up, go home. the two of them would have to return to their regular lives. eventually, daniel would have to leave again, and noel would have to go back to his work again. but for now, they had this moment, filled with loving touches and quiet words that were felt more than heard, with gentle kisses and only their own company.</p><p>but for now, just for a short while, everything else in the world could hit pause, and they could enjoy each other.</p>
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